NATIONAL AMERICAN LEGION COMMANDER CANDIDATE CALLS ON LEGIONNAIRES TO CREATIVELY MEET CHALLENGES IN CHANGING WORLD

“I believe that conducting business as usual because ‘that is the way we have always done it’ is not going to be successful in the future.” –Clarence Hill

By Rees LLoyd

            Clarence Hill, Past Department of Florida Commander and candidate for National American Legion Commander, called on California Legionnaires to be creative and innovative in meeting the challenges of a changing world in a thought-provoking speech before delegates representing some 130,000 members at the recent California Department Executive Committee meeting in Santa Maria, CA.

            “These are extremely challenging times we face, and its never been more important nor more necessary to have the American Legion than right now. There is no organization more grassroots in nature than the American Legion, and it’s each of you, our hard-working Legionnaires, that make us what we are today,” said Hill.

            A Naval Academy graduate who earned also two masters degrees while in service, retired as a Navy Captain in 1996 after spending 19 of 24 years of service on sea duty, including commanding the guided missile frigate U.S. McHenry FFG-8 for two years which involved combat operations in “Desert Storm,”  Hill warned of  complacency and lack of sustained commitment in the face of modern terrorism.

            “This terrorist threat that we are dealing with is not well understood by the public, and the bulk of the public is not affected by it. It is a cultural and religious war and it’s going to be with us for a long time,” said Hill, who has served three years as Chairman of the National American Legion Homeland Security Commission.

            “We, as a nation, have demonstrated time and again that our attention span is short, our expectations of quick and decisive victories are firm, and any prolonged involvement creates adversity and opposition, which threatens our unity, as you can see happens today,” he said.

            “I believe that over 14,000 American Legion Posts are the patriotic consciences of their communities. We know the threat and up to us to educate our communities,” Hill said, to sustained applause.

            Hill emphasized the importance of the Posts in the Legion organization.

            “How you and your Post interact in your community and respond to its unique needs establishes and maintains the reputation of The American Legion and any respect we have achieved,” he said.

            “The Post’s image is the community’s image of The American Legion, so, publicizing, establishing a rapport with your media and publicizing your activities, is extremely important. Each Post should be striving to become the center of its community’s activities,” he said, adding that membership is key.

            “You should never pass up the opportunity to recruit a new member or work to retain our current members: Its amazing how many times that people that you’re recruiting will tell you the only reason they haven’t joined is that no one asked them,” he said.

             “Mentorship is important,” Hill emphasized. “Be their mentor. Just as someone taught you when you joined the organization, we should always be looking for our replacements.”

            Hill, who is a dual member of the Legion and the Sons of the American Legion (SAL), stressed the need for creativity and innovation in recruiting and programs, citing the recent implementation of the Legion Riders, of which he is also a member.

            “I believe that the Legion Riders is the greatest membership idea ever. If California is anything like Florida, establishing Legion Rider chapters brings in new members to all three parts of the American Legion family, and upwards of 75 percent of those new members would not have joined if the Riders didn’t exist,” Hill said. “Their accomplishments are value added to the organization and are significant.  Just witness what they do each year with the Legacy Run. Over $580,000 this last year and over a million dollars in three years.”

            Hill also commended the Legion Riders and others participating in the Patriot Guard who have escorted and protected military funeral processions from harassment.

            Hill stated that creative and innovative recruitment methods, programs, and policies have to be implemented to close what he called the “color gap, the generation gap, and the technology gap.”

            “Women and minorities are also crucial to our future. There are more women and minorities serving today than ever before. We need to attract more women and minorities to the organization,” Hill said.

            As for the “generation gap,” Hill said that while Vietnam veterans “comprise 35 per cent of our membership at this time and they’re still the largest single pool out there,” that “our next generation to serve is those born in 1990.  They have known terrorism all of their lives.”

            He noted that “they were 11 on 9-11,” and their lives were very different from those of prior generations of veterans, including the “Internet” and other technology.  Hill urged Legionnaires to recognize the extreme differences in experiences, which he said necessitate different approaches to recruitment for joining and serving in the American Legion.

            “I believe that conducting business as usual because ‘that is the way we have always done it’ is not going to be successful in the future,” Hill said.

            “The Internet is a wonderful tool. It is where they play their games, it’s where they get their news, it’s where they live their lives —  and that is where the American Legion needs to be,”  Hill stressed.

            He pointed out that technological innovation provides the opportunity for greater information sharing about the Legion and its programs, greater “social networking,” and even greater economies.

            “The technology is out there for [California] Commander [Al] Lennox here to have a meeting with his leadership without having t o bring you all to a central location, just using web cams and the Internet.  National has even established a Vet Cam program for families to stay in touch with their deployed loved ones,” Hill said, citing the enormous potential of modern technology.

            “In short, how we deal with the color gap, the gender gap, the generation gap, and the technology gap, is going to be critical to our long-term prosperity,” Hill concluded. “Remember:  Today’s tough challenges are simply more opportunities to succeed.”

     About the author:  Reporter Rees Lloyd is a Life Member of Riverside Post 79, Past Commander of District 21, and Director, Defense of Veterans Memorials Project of the American Legion Department of California and the Alliance Defense Fund.