NALPA NEWSLETTER
The official newsletter of the National American Legion Press Association Spring 2017 Issue
What’s Coming Honoring and remembering
American Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt testifies before the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees during the Washington Conference. The conference presented opportunities for NALPA members to promote the Legion. Photo by Clay Lomneth
Let’s continue to communicate our great work By David F. Wallace
T
he American Legion has completed another inspiring Washington Conference while many departments have organized educational spring conferences. These both represent great opportunities for NALPA members to share these successes in their local communities. For example, if a post member met with a congressional representative during Washington Conference, a letter to the editor of your local newspaper would be appropriate. Of course, you can also share a photo of the meeting on your post’s, district’s and/or department’s newsletter and/or social media. During Washington Conference, NALPA Executive Director Pat Rourk and the staff from the Media and Communications Division recruited 20 new members, bringing the current total to 140 above where we were last year at this time. Our membership is growing. Let’s keep it moving forward! Rourk and staff members also handed out flyers touting the social media push for appeals modernization and shared what NALPA is doing. NALPA leadership also met with staff members to discuss plans for the rest of this membership year that included our NALPA Annual Awards Program (which by the way is free to submit your entries). I was fortunate to have National Commander Charles E. Schmidt attend the Department of
Virginia’s Spring Conference, which was held in Virginia Beach. Schmidt shared stories from his travels to over 30 departments and more than 130 posts since he became national commander. A highlight of his Virginia trip was the Walk for Veterans, during which about 25 Legion Family members, including myself, braved the 34-degree weather. These events not only symbolize the Legion’s dedication to taking strong steps to improve the lives of veterans, they represent potential positive media that NALPA members should be striving to promote. It’s up to us to build awareness of the great things the Legion does in all of our communities. Events and stories like these are exactly what NALPA and especially your Department’s Press Association is all about. We need to continue to share our events and all of the veterans outreach we are doing. We need to continue to let our key influencers know we are here to promote, market and share through our association’s website, our social network platforms and quarterly newsletters. As we move toward spring, our youth programs — the Oratorical Contest, American Legion Baseball, Boys State and Nation, and others — will take center stage. These are great programs that allow us to generate positive coverage for our organization. Let’s continue to communicate the great things the Legion Family does throughout the year!
May is an important month for The American Legion Family. Posts and units should be coordinating plans to promote remembrance activities on their social media pages now. For example, a post can create an event on its Facebook page and invite followers to attend. Auxiliary units could post photos of poppies and invite followers to share them virtually.
Flag Day, June 14
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 news release for your local media.
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 you can share via your Facebook pages.
PTSD awareness
June is PTSD awareness month, a great time to connect with younger veterans and let them know how the Legion can help. www.legion.org/publications