Nalpa Newsletter Spring 2016

NALPA NEWSLETTER

The official newsletter of the National American Legion Press Association Spring 2016 Issue

What’s Coming Honoring and remembering

NALPA President Priscilla Imburgia discusses benefits of membership with attendees at the Washington Conference. Photo by Clay Lomneth

A SUCCESSFUL DEBUT

NALPA’s appearance at Washington Conference helps drive membership, awareness.

By Priscilla R. Imburgia

N

ALPA had a successful debut at February’s Washington Conference.

Given a highly visible and convenient location, NALPA members and national staff had nonstop opportunities to talk with members and nonmembers. Executive Director Pat Rourk and American Legion staff member Holly Soria joined me at the table each day as their schedules allowed. In addition to generating interest in NALPA, we signed up participants for the Legion’s “Thunderclap” campaign.

We met both goals overwhelmingly.

Interest ran extremely high in our “new era” of NALPA. We showed off our vision for the future, accompanied by attractive signage, promotion of our new logo and mission.

Visitors shared in our enthusiasm and scooped up the first edition of the newly formatted newsletter. Pat’s excellent organizational skills allowed us to collect renewals and new members on the spot.

NALPA also provided a useful presentation to the general session Tuesday. Area 3 Vice President Mark Sutton expounded on how social media can support and spread information rapidly on visits to Capitol Hill. Mark’s on-point message, accompanied by a big screen slide displaying our logo, gave NALPA recogni-

tion as a “go to” resource.

Looking ahead: At this summer’s national convention, we will revisit our Constitution and Bylaws. Members at last year’s annual meeting had many concerns over our Constitution and Bylaws. We have made arrangements to hold a special pre-meeting on just those topics. Please gather your thoughts and make an effort to attend. I would greatly appreciate members forwarding ahead of time their concerns to Pat who will share with me. Should you be unable to attend, we will be armed with your concerns.

This meeting will help set us on a course for concrete proposals next year.

My next challenge: We need all department adjutants to be on board with NALPA by making sure their departments are members.

This also applies to Auxiliaries and SALs, too.

Contact yours today. Share information on our “new era” and how we can play an important role in promoting The American Legion Family.

I will give a President’s Award for every new department signed up (that is the department, not a chairman).

Participate: Have you entered a “Tag Line” for our new logo? Have you thought about a “tip or trick” to offer? Email your ideas and submissions to Pat, prourk@twcny.rr.com.

May is an important month for The American Legion Family. Many posts are actively involved with Memorial Day events in their communities, while the Auxiliary plans its Poppy Day. Posts and units should be coordinating plans to promote these activities on their social media pages now.

For example, a post can create an event on its Facebook page and invite followers to attend.

Flag Day

June 14 is another important day for The American Legion Family. If your post coordinates a flag retirement ceremony around June 14 - or any other time - it’s advisable to spread the word through social media, as well as preparing a notice to be placed in the local paper. Also consider: Writing a letter to the editor for your local paper about why Flag Day matters.

Boys State/Nation and Girls State/Nation

Posts and units are encouraged to coordinate with their Boys and Girls State representatives on social media. Ask participants to provide photos of their experiences, which can be used to populate your post or unit Facebook page.

PTSD awareness

June is PTSD awareness month.

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www.nalpa.org

A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Now is the time to start planning

By Patrick R. Rourk

I hope everyone had a great Easter with chocolate bunnies and peeps galore.

For me this means we have begun the annual summer dash. County and district conventions, elections and then department conventions. How many of our communicators out there - meaning you - have made arrangements to make a pitch to your post, county, district or department about the National Press Association? This is the time to be planning and implementing what you are going to be doing next year in the communications arena!

Membership: Yes, I need to address this again and keep on addressing it. We have many new members this year, and thank you for joining. We also need to recognize those who have come back into the fold. As previously stated, we have started a number of new initiatives and more are in the offing. For example, National Marketing, Media and Communications Division staff members have just finished several great videos for us that are available. Go take a look. These videos and other resources for NALPA members are on www.legion.org/nalpa/resources.

Our LinkedIn moderator is using them and they should be available through Facebook soon. Many more improvements and innovations are coming down the pipeline and members will need to be in good standing to be able to access these new resources. Former members who have not renewed will miss out!

Print and media contest: This is the second and final call for entries to the 2016 contest. The rules and entry blank are again in this issue and also available for download from www.legion.org/

ALERT

A plea from the president

nalpa/resources. As usual, you must be a current – paid up – member in order to submit an entry. I have already received three entries as of March 25. Remember entries must be received in the Executive Director’s Office or Social Media Category Manager’s mailbox no later than May 31.

Addresses are in the rules on the facing page. Just so you all know – we use three judges for each segment of the contest and they need the time to consider all the entries and complete their responsibilities. This process must be finished by July 15 in order to create the awards in time for the National Convention NALPA Awards Luncheon.

Awards luncheon: It looks like it will be a much more favorable venue this year for our awards luncheon. First of all, it is a sit-down luncheon with two entrées to select from. Tickets will be about $10 cheaper – never thought I’d see the day of a retreat in prices! However, we are still working the issue. The reservation blank will be in the next issue of the newsletter along with entrée selection choices and picks. Reservations will be required.

Once again this year, the hotel is requiring the meal count a full week before the luncheon. That drives reservations to be cut off a full week before the luncheon – and that will include names, selections and payments in the office by that time.

Annual meeting: We’ll do things a little differently at the annual meeting at national convention this year.

The executive meeting will go from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Sunday. At 10 a.m., there will be a work session on the Constitution and Bylaws for anyone interested in attending. The actual annual meeting will run from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.

As you all know, email is a very important way to conduct business and communicate in the modern world. And, we need your email address. Changes ahead for NALPA include digital newsletters, saving natural and financial resources, not to mention perhaps more issues and timely press releases.

Our members are center stage as media communicators and our nerve center must be able to effectively locate everyone. Please submit your email address to Pat Rourk, prourk@twcny.rr.com.

After all, “communication is the key to success.”

The National American Legion Press Association (NALPA) is a nonprofit organization made up of members interested in furthering the aims of The American Legion.

Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written permission of the Editor. You are encouraged to contact us if you wish to utilize materials contained herein for other non-profit organization publication.

Opinions expressed by authors are their own and do not necessarily represent those of either the Publisher or Editor.

Correspondence and letters to the editor: NALPA c/o Patrick R. Rourk 3 Morton St. Norwood, NY 13668-1100 Telephone: (315) 353-8892 (6:00 – 9:00 P.M. ET only) Email: prourk@twcny.rr.com Online: www.nalpa.org Membership information and applications: NALPA c/o Debra Murrell P.O. Box 1055 Indianapolis, IN 46206 NALPA Newsletter is published quarterly by The National American Legion Press Association.

Periodicals postage paid at Indianapolis, IN-Permit # 719.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: NALPA, c/o Debra Murrell, The American Legion, PO Box 1055, Indianapolis IN 46206 PRESIDENT Priscilla R. Imburgia EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Patrick R. Rourk VICE PRESIDENTS Lynda Pixley, Area 1 Dave Wallace, Area 2 Mark Sutton, Area 3 Connie Jo Popham, Area 4 DIRECTORS Kevin Harrington, Area 1 Steve Shuga, Area 2 Dolly Zitur, Area 3 John Bartos, Area 4 JUDGE ADVOCATE Charles G. Mills

HISTORIAN Dolly Zitur CHAPLAIN Maudi L. Price FINANCE Joseph Porempski SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Roger S. Dong WEB MASTER Mike W. Moses COUNCIL TO THE PRESIDENT Parvin R. Gibbs, John E. Thompson, James T. Higuera, Brett Reistad, Patrick Rourk

www.nalpa.org

NALPA NEWSLETTER

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SOCIAL MEDIA HOW-TO

Use LinkedIn to widen circle, fill post officer positions

By David F. Wallace

Some of you may wonder why there is a NALPA article about LinkedIn. Many who have heard of this online talent community think that its purpose is to help people showcase their skillsets and to help recruiters find them for a potential career opportunity. Did you know that it could also be used to help your post locate potential new members who are looking for volunteer opportunities? This article will show you how to use LinkedIn for that purpose.

There are more than 4 million professionals on LinkedIn who have one thing in common - they have expressed an interest in joining a nonprofit board or doing skills-based volunteering - or both. Think about the different leadership opportunities that your post has to offer on your Executive Committee (EXCOM). What types of skillsets would you like for those post volunteers to have to be successful in some of those positions?

Take away the knowledge side of the Legion and think outside the box. You have different military occupations that dovetail nicely with EXCOM positions.

For example, your post adjutant would be a great fit for someone with a background in Human Resources and someone with a supply and logistics background could work as your post finance officer. There are public affairs officers or journalists who would make great historians.

Approximately 72 percent of younger

Legion member and NALPA Area 2 Vice President David Wallace poses with his son, Jeremy, an SAL member.

veterans are looking for ways to give back, according to a recent article that I read. Of that percentage, veterans who are from Generation X and the midcareer veterans represent approximately 21 percent. This generation is our next generation of leaders within The American Legion. The top skills these would-be volunteers (and potential Legion Family members) have include management, customer service, leadership, project management and strategic planning.

How do you find those who are searching for volunteering opportunities?

Create a profile on LinkedIn, if you haven’t done so already, and as a professional, you can signal you want to use your skills for good on your LinkedIn profile by checking the boxes for “Joining a nonprofit board” and/or “Skills-based volunteering” in the Volunteer Experience and Causes section. From there, you can search for volunteer opportunities in your area and begin identifying and connecting with veterans for opportunities at your post home.

The possibilities are endless and the potential rewards can last a lifetime!

SOCIAL MEDIA

NALPA Facebook page growing; help us get to 1,000 likes before convention

By Jane M. McKnight

The changes underway for the National American Legion Press Association (NALPA) also include the social media landscape. For example, the NALPA Facebook page recently zoomed past 500 likes. I would like to see the page get 1,000 likes before national convention. To visit – and like – the page, just type

in National American Legion Press Association into your Facebook search.

The surge in audience is directly related to the frequency of posting items. That’s a lesson that communicators at all levels of the organization can benefit from. If you are responsible for your group’s Facebook page, you will see an uptick in likes, shares and other engagement when you

post on a regular basis.

Hopefully, members who engage themselves in the public relations efforts in their posts, units, squadrons and Riders chapters are already a part of their respective department’s American Legion Press Association. I am a member of over 20 American Legion Family Facebook sites and we should all be cross-referencing each other to

promote our great family.

I share many posts from the national organizations and would like to see the wonderful contributions and events that you are doing in your communities. Share links about post activities from newspapers. Take pictures at your events and post them.

Remember to like and tag other organizations – they can help promote your page, too.

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www.nalpa.org

AWARDS

National American Legion Press Association Annual Awards Program Rules for Basis of Judging: 1. Newspapers will be judged on: Content (Legion, Auxiliary, SAL) local, county, district, state and national news, as appropriate; clear, concise and balanced writing; make-up; design and appearance; use of photos and illustrations.

2. Editorials will be judged on: Headline and lead arousal of interest; clear, concise and imaginative writing; research and grasp of subject; timely and appropriate objectives suitable to public.

3. Websites will be judged on: Department or Local information, site design, links, appropriateness of information and attractiveness.

4. Social Media Sites will be judged on: Appearance and presentation; content, readability and engagement; purposes and goals.

5. Visual Media: entries will be evaluated based on originality, clarity, be in perspective, quality, purpose, veterans connection, interest and skill.

Entry Instructions: 1. Must be current member of the National American Legion Press Association.

2. Comlpete the facing page entry form. A photocopy of the page is acceptable to preserve the wholeness of your NALPA Newsletter.

3. For categories I., II., III., and IV., submit three (3) papers, one each of three separate issues.

4. For category V. and VII., submit the electronic address (URL) for your website or social media site. If you submit more than one URL, you must do a separate entry for each submission.

5. For category VI., submit only one (1) editorial. Send entire paper or tear-sheet containing the editorial, and date of issue.

6. For category VIII, submit up to 3 photos that have been published on same subject or event; or CD/DVD or link to access video; or 3 copies of printed, digital art (do not send original paintings/drawings, etc.) in their published vehicle.

Note: An Entry Fee of $25 for each entry and copy of your current NALPA membership card must accompany the submission. Entry fee must be paid by check payable to NALPA.

Entries must be postmarked no later than May 31, of the current year, and mailed to: Send entry form/cover sheet and entry for all entries EXCEPT Social Media to: Patrick R. Rourk 3 Morton St. Norwood, NY 13668-1100 Social Media Site Entries send entry form/cover sheet to: Brett Reistad 10404 Spraggins Ct. Manassas, VA 20110-6621 You must mark the lower left corner of your mailing envelope: “NALPA CONTEST” and indicate the entry category for judging. (e. g., Printed Media - III. - B, or Web Media - V. - A, or Social Media – VII - C, etc.)

www.nalpa.org

NALPA NEWSLETTER Entry Criteria

Category and level

TAL

ALA

SAL

Other*

I. Department George W. Hooten Award For Department-wide publications A. 40,000+ members.

A

B

C

D

B. Under 40,000 members.

A

B

C

D

II. District, County, Regional Emerson O. Mann Award For District-wide, County-wide or Region-wide Publications.

- District, county or regional publications

A

B

C

D

III. Larger Posts Al Weinburg Award For all publications produced at the post level.

A. Posts over 750 members.

A

B

C

B. Posts with 250 - 749 members.

A

B

C

Entry Criteria TAL

ALA

SAL

Other*

A. Original effort of publication editor.

A

B

C

D

B. Guest editorial (bylined or author identified).

A

B

C

D

C. External Editorial nominated by NALPA Member

A

B

C

A. Department-level social networking sites

A

B

C

D

B. All other social network sites

A

B

C

D

VI. Editorials William E. Rominger Award A & B: Must have appeared originally in an American Legion Family publication within the Award year.

C. Any medium outside The American Legion Family Media

VII. Social Media Robert Morrill Award (Encompasses Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.)

IV. Smaller Posts, Units, Squadrons R. C. Cann Award For all publications produced at the post, unit, squadron level.

- Posts up to 250 members.

Category and level

VIII. Visual Media - All levels and parts of the Legion Family Photos, Videos, Movies & Graphic Illustrations (includes paintings, drawings and designs that have been published)

A

B

C

A. Photographs

A

B

C

D

A. Department websites.

A

B

C

D

B. Videos/Movies

A

B

C

D

B. All other websites.

A

B

C

D

C. Graphic Designs - all types

A

B

C

D

V. Websites Mary B. Howard Award Award For all websites created to support The American Legion Family.

Your notes if any (Judges will not see this form!):

* Item for other American Legion related publications - such as NALPA Newsletter, etc.

Instructions - Under Entry Criteria above circle the family type then below circle the medium within which you wish this entry to be judged.

PRINTED

SOCIAL MEDIA

WEBSITE

PHOTO/VIDEO/GRAPHIC

Please fill out the form below by typing or printing legibly 1. Number and name of post, district, unit, squadron, organization, etc.

2. Full address of this organization in item #1.

3. Frequency, circulation number and name of publication or Web address for websites.

4. Name, address, email and telephone number of publication editor; or of entrant if other than editor.

5. Place photocopy of current NALPA membership card here

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SOCIAL MEDIA

#

Hashtags help promote your activities

www.nalpa.org

WEBSITE

New-look Legion.org debuts The American Legion’s website, www.legion.org, has undergone an extreme makeover. Redesigned and coded to look and perform better on mobile devices and to improve awareness of the Legion’s valuable programs and services, the site maintains nearly all the features visitors have enjoyed and used in recent years.

Visitors will notice the site

is easier to navigate with well-illustrated portals to join, renew, donate, purchase merchandise and learn more about the nation’s largest veterans service organization.

Among the highlights: Legion.org/news: The site still has all the important information, including news headlines high on the landing page and a separate news center where coverage of Legion

Oftentimes social media users search for hashtags of a particular topic of interest. For example, during the time when the professional football championship is being played, users will search for items containing the hashtag #SuperBowl, or #superbowl.

Hashtags are always one word and begin with the pound or number sign.

In upcoming months, there are events that social media managers may want to use when posting information about what their post is doing.

Here are some that will be used and/or monitored by the National Headquarters team: #VEDay #ArmedForcesDay #MemorialDay #FlagDay #July4th #ShootingSports #BoysNation2016 #PurpleHeartDay #ALWS2016

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Full Name

First

MI

Last

Home Address

City

State

ZIP

Email Legion/Auxiliary/SAL Membership # Department/Post/Detachment I AM A MEMBER OF THE FOLLOWING: The American Legion

American Legion Auxiliary

Sons of The American Legion

THIS IS FOR: New Membership: $15

Renew Membership: $15

#VJDay

TOTAL:________________

#LegacyRun2016

Make Check Payable To: NALPA MAIL TO:

The NALPA membership year is from

September 1 through August 31

#ALconvention

activities can be found, along with photo galleries and videos.

Legion.org/media: All the latest media produced by National Headquarters.

Legion.org/programs: A fresh design to promote the Legion’s programs.

Legion.org/members: The benefits of membership are laid out in a simple and inviting format.

Legion.org/donate: Tax-deductible giving is made easy, allowing visitors to help the Legion fulfill its mission to serve veterans, military personnel, youth and communities worldwide.

Legion.org, one of the most frequented websites for veterans with up to 500,000 monthly visitors, will continue to evolve but will maintain a more consistent structure so changes can be made more quickly and efficiently.

NALPA Pin $5.00 in person $7.50 by mail

NALPA The American Legion C/O Debra Murrell, National Media & Communications PO Box 1055 Indianapolis, IN 46206 PLEASE ENTER Membership Year: 20________

www.nalpa.org

NALPA NEWSLETTER

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SPOTLIGHT: JOHN “DURK” DURKIN

‘A powerful, effective voice’ Our new “Spotlight” column gives us a place to share information about talented NALPA members and success stories. Do you know a member or have a successful story you think should be in “Spotlight”?

Please contact us.

Meet John “Durk” Durkin of California, a member of The American Legion for 14 years and NALPA for eight years.

Priscilla Imburgia: Last year you won five NALPA awards. At the awards banquet you received both 2nd and 3rd place category B websites (CALPA and California SAL), both 1st and 2nd place Facebook (CALPA and California SAL) pages under Social Media and you won top honor for Graphic Design.

Congratulations, that is no small achievement. Tell us about why you devote so much time and energy to American Legion Family media.

Durk: I determined a few years ago that many service organizations and charities, including The American Legion, did not know how to effectively market themselves over the Internet. The Internet, if used properly, is the most powerful tool in increasing an organization’s membership as well as generating higher revenues through online contributions. Being the owner of an Internet company since 1993, and working with numerous commercial accounts, I decided to “give back” and help my military family gain public exposure and increase their donations by concentrating on military organizations specializing in helping wounded heroes, military and veteran families in need, and spouses/children who have lost a loved one

through the war. I taught them how to set up an affordable website, social media pages, SEO and how to market their organizations via the Internet while keeping the website up-to-date themselves.

Imburgia: I noticed on your CALPA site that you have ongoing updates for posts across your state. How did you develop a relationship with so many posts?

Durk: Basically it has been word of mouth. I’ve offered my services to posts and districts at a very reduced rate, and now I’ve even done some state and area organizations as well as officer’s election campaigns. I try to help the organizations with various software products that I’ve tested, they are easy to use, very cost effective and can make life much simpler when building a website, designing a newsletter, integrating a database, or programming a unique module into a current website. Many individuals now call back and share successes, including how they have used their CALPA or NALPA card to gain access to various events as a legitimate press agent. I’ve yet to try gaining access to a Rolling Stones concert using my press card, but I think I will try. We as a family can share with each other and become a powerful and effective force in telling The American Legion story.

Imburgia: What advice do you offer to members who need media help?

Durk: The key is identifying your objective in having a website. Is it to publicize the post to the public, increase your membership, generate online contributions or is it just to be a centralized information portal to communicate with your current

membership? Actually it can be beneficial to your post or organization in all those areas.

The world of media is the road to success and in today’s world, the efficiency of the Internet is an absolute must for the survival for any organization. The perfect starting place would be by joining NALPA and the department press association. There you will find webmasters, graphic artists, photographers, videographers, copywriters, authors, journalists and an entire family of American Legion press agents who will help and contribute ideas to achieve your goals.

Imburgia: What do you see as the role of CALPA? NALPA? Durk: I see NALPA and the state press associations’ roles as the teams that can “tell the true story” and publicize The American Legion locally through each post, district, area and department with the same application applying to the Auxiliary, Sons and Riders.

I find the public is more than willing to get involved and to donate if they understand why they should and to who the contribution is going to impact. The problem as I see it, is that the story of what the Legion is really all about and who we actually help is well circulated within our membership, but little is known by the local citizens outside the four walls of our posts. The public wants to give, they just don’t know where to give; and with so much fraud out there, NALPA can tell the true story and set the record straight that what The American Legion takes in is what The American Legion gives out.

READ MORE For the full Q&A interview with John Durkin, please visit www.legion.org/NALPA

The American Legion

NEWSLETTER

PUBLIC RELATIONS

P.O. BOX 1055 • INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46206

New Legion Riders and NEF materials available National Headquarters is offering new materials for departments and posts to use in local media to promote The American Legion brand.

A variety of print, web and video content is available for download and more will be added in coming months. www.legion.org/nalpa/resources

Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID THE AMERICAN LEGION