Section 1 a “Blueprint” for the 21st Century Purpose

səhifə	11/32
tarix	24.06.2016
ölçüsü	4.87 Mb.

1 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 32

Evaluating Post Programs

Perhaps the best way to evaluate the changes that have taken place in the Legion programs is to review its history. For example, in the field of childcare, The American Legion has been an innovator. Many nationwide programs first saw the light of day as a Legion resolution. But Children and Youth programs of today bear little resemblance to the programs of the twenties or the thirties. No longer is the emphasis on establishing orphanages. Now the emphasis is on the whole child and the retention of as near a normal family life as possible. The programs have changed over a period of years, but . . .

Don’t be surprised if at your first Post visit the entire program consists of a discussion on whether to enlarge the club parking lot. And don’t be too shocked if at the second, you are greeted with, “Well we didn’t have any program for tonight, so we’ll just turn it over to the District Commander.” Perhaps at the third, someone will report, “We’ve had the same program with the school since World War II. Now the school officials want to change it. Well, they won’t get away with it. I’ve got an appointment with the school board.”
All of this is business as usual, but today that is not good enough. Your job is to search out and help your Post officers find programs that have meaning today. Opportunities are all around you. The American Legion National Emergency Fund [NEF] Program is a good example.
There are new and old veterans eager for a visit from someone who realizes there are problems in readjusting, in retaining a pension, in finding work, or in getting training to make a decent living. Every community needs a good recognition program for its veterans. Through the press, TV and radio, use it as an example for others. Perhaps the Posts could take on the job of building support.
Leading authorities feel the best way to combat increasing drug abuse is in public education. Urge your Posts to find out what your schools are providing; organize a public meeting with an authoritative speaker; and take the lead in developing a community drug education council.
What happens after your delegates return from Boys State? Perhaps they could help organize a Junior Lawman program copied after one now sponsored by the Department of Nebraska. This involves bringing high school juniors into the state patrol-training center for a week of instruction involving all branches of law enforcement.
There is a need for the promotion of old-fashioned patriotism—an activity that remains timely.
You could be surprised and delighted by the enthusiasm generated by properly planned and conducted District promotions.
Analysis Of Post Operations

(Simplified Analysis Form Provided For District/Post Use Following “Post Responsibility Audit” Form)
Abe Lincoln is credited with the remark that “a man’s legs need to be long enough to reach the ground.” The membership of a Post needs to be big enough to carry on the work of the Post—and it will be. For a Post’s activities cannot be greater than its membership can support. So, before we talk about the membership of a Post and how big the Post ought to be, we need to ask—and answer—a few other questions.
What does the Post do that would make a veteran want to belong? Is it looking to the future?
What further activities could it reasonably expect to carry out? How many members can the Post expect to handle? How many does it actually want? Maybe it is satisfied with what it already has.
What kind of Post is it or does it want to be? Or just what is the reason for the existence of this particular Post?
The answers for every Post will be different.
While the answers may be different, they can be revealing and will certainly show which Posts are capable of membership growth and which Posts must have improved and modernized programs before a healthy membership growth can be supported.
In any given Post, there is a rather constant percentage of the members who do the bulk of the work. This manpower pool is the one around which practically all Posts build their programs.
The percentage of active members is rather constant, but it does not need to be. Ideas for increasing the number and quality of active Legionnaires are available in Department and national planning manuals. Use this material as a base for your own presentation to make your Post more effective.

Limits of Authority - - - Methods of Securing Information

Many Posts resent what they infer to be interference in the operation of their Post. At the same time, the Department is counting upon the District Commander to have detailed knowledge and understanding of each Post in the District. This conflict can usually be resolved by use of proper methods of working with the Posts both toward obtaining information and toward improving Post operation. A sample Post Analysis Sheet appears later in this section. This particular sheet is quite similar to the one used by many of our Departments. Experience in the field has shown the actual sheet can be left in the briefcase while the information is being gathered.

Perhaps the most effective method yet devised is for the District Commander to be prepared with several key questions on programs or activities; they may be your own pet interests. Give these to all District officers to use during Post visitations.

If a meeting with Post officers can be arranged, these key questions can be the start of a good discussion, allowing the District Commander to obtain all of the information needed and at the same time offer numerous suggestions for improvements.
It has been conclusively proven there is no value in handing an analysis sheet to one or more Post officers and asking them to complete it without consultation with the District Commander or whoever is having the form completed.

Use of Information Obtained

As important as it is for the District Commander to know the internal operation of each Post, it is equally important this information is put to proper use. Certainly it has no value if the District Commander simply obtains this information for information’s sake. First, the information should be put to work to assist the Post in improving its overall programs and procedures. Second, the information must be passed on to the Department as part of that vast amount of knowledge that makes for a growing Department. Third, District officers can be better informed.
Today, too often The American Legion is guilty of focusing on the needs of the organization rather than on the needs of the veterans or the community. American Legion Posts need to wholeheartedly adopt an approach geared to the ideal of satisfying the needs of potential Legionnaires and communities, thus causing The American Legion to be a vehicle for service, and this would make for easier acceptance. The logical conclusion is that the Posts would become more flexible. There would be a variety of types of Posts—the possibilities are endless if the primary thought behind continuing or forming a new Post is to provide service.
Many like a Post that has a good clubroom. They like the sociability that develops around a good bar, but this doesn’t appeal to a lot of veterans. Some of them are leaders in our communities, who are needed in The American Legion. A clubroom can add to a Post, but think of the many Posts where the meetings are held in the bar room or members must go through the bar to get to the meeting room. It doesn’t matter how good a salesman you have on your membership team, the market is limited. Sure, the first sale may be made, but you probably aren’t gaining a continuing or active member.
There need to be people within our organization whose primary responsibility is analyzing the Post structure, particularly those located in metropolitan and urban areas. Their purpose would not be to make the individual contacts, but rather helping Posts toward the filling of present or developed needs of the veteran or the community.
We must further build a task force of people capable of making contact on the highest level within the community and developing with community leaders a marketable American Legion for the area. “What can this Post and its membership do to better serve the local veterans and the community?” and then did something about it. The Post Responsibility Audit, which follows, is an attempt to answer such questions. This tool will amaze you with its ability to determine the quality of a Post operation and its relationship to membership growth.
Post Responsibility Audit (PRA)

(Simplified Audit Form Provided For District/Post Use Follows)

A “PRA” anticipates an organization will participate, through its members, in meaningful activities within the community where its members reside. But it also means one thing more—and this is important—it means you should also be able to measure the results of its activities.

The American Legion has developed programs primarily in response to pressure. These pressures can take many forms—it may mean a drop in membership, acceptance by communities, being available to all veterans, changing economic factors, or a new generation of veterans. These are all conditions or pressures that directly affect The American Legion. There are many more. Unfortunately, the Post response has been one of reaction rather than one of action.
As individuals, and in our personal life, we do plan ahead—some with more success than others—but when a person gets active in a Post, “blinders” with “tunnel-vision” may also occur. Then you see general statements like, “Be Active, promote community service” and Post members usually react rather than act ahead of any emergency.
Perhaps this is because no one has spelled out the one-two-three items to show a Post is doing its share, or another Post is not doing its share. And perhaps the reason for this is that as movement is made up the scale from Post to District, to Department, to National, it becomes increasingly hard to get action and, as Legionnaires, there is trouble getting a proactive/proper response except to a crisis.
There are no precise standards already developed that gives a qualitative as well as a quantitative analysis of a Post, but a start has to be made and perhaps the accompanying charge can be used as a barometer which actually measures the effectiveness of a Post.
This whole presentation has been put together not necessarily to indicate how you could quickly rate your Posts, although this could be a very valuable tool. The primary purpose is to indicate how by evaluating what the Post is doing you can show whether it is fulfilling a useful function, whether it is an organization attracting veterans, and whether it is truly a community asset.
If you honestly evaluate your Posts, you are going to be surprised. More important, the evaluation will indicate where improvement is most needed.
Perhaps the social aspects have been underplayed, although it would be easy to cover all such activities under the 5th item, “Post is a Community Center” or the 8th item, “Is a Friendly Place to Be.” It’s entirely possible if this type of audit is used, there will have to be increased emphasis on a planned social recreational program. In the meantime, do not lose sight of the very fundamental question, “Is this Post doing the things that justify its continues existence in the community or for your veterans?”
A score of 24 probably should produce a Post that’s doing a respectable job of hanging on to old members. It’s doubtful many would be coming out to meetings, and it’s more doubtful it would be attracting the necessary new blood to make the Post grow.
Most average Posts, with a little effort, can be changed to become outstanding Posts. By improving each item listed on the chart, this improvement should come about. One area where a better performance would be most easily seen would be in attendance at Post meetings. A second would be the enthusiasm displayed by the members. A third would be a brightening of the membership picture.
Evaluate what the Post is doing…use the following form to audit Post activities. First, run a beginning audit, with periodic follow-ups for comparison, such as each quarter, to see whether the Post has made any improvements in specifically identified areas.

1 ... 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ... 32