VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ILLINOIS PROGRAM BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2018 THE HEAT IS ON AGAIN

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1 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ILLINOIS PROGRAM BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2018 MEMBERSHIP J.D. Butch Spindler, Membership Director Telephone: Home: (618) Office: (618) THE HEAT IS ON AGAIN Our Membership Program is up and running at full speed. Post Commanders, Quartermasters, and Adjutants: Do you have your Membership Program planned and in place at this time? Are you implementing activities and using the tools provided to you to help make your Post successful? PLEASE DON T PROCRASTINATE. You should get this done while the weather is still good. You don t want to find yourselves fighting the snow and cold, trying to catch up in February! Our goals are the same as always: to retain, recruit, and reinstate. Our Department sends out a listing of past due members each month. It is critical that these people be contacted to get them paid up-to-date as soon as possible. The longer they remain unpaid, the harder it becomes to convince them to stay current. It is possible that they simply forgot to pay, but they also may have considered dropping completely out of the organization. Oftentimes, a simple contact in person, or even by phone, is the incentive they need to renew. A little effort on your part could very well pay off! In order to retain our current annual paying members, we must maintain contact with them, and make them feel a part of their local VFW...even if they never come into the Post. Many Posts have quit communicating with these members (and then wonder why they don t pay their dues). Why would a member want to remain in an organization where they feel unappreciated, and never hear a word from them? Many of our Posts do a good job communicating through their newsletters, and this helps maintain the feeling of belonging. If your Post is not communicating and maintaining contact with you members, maybe it s time to consider implementing a way to stay in touch, i.e., through , Facebook, or a Post newsletter. Recruiting new members each year is necessary, because this is how we replace the ones we lose each year. Consistent recruiting activities solve recruiting problems. Our members are presented with recruiting opportunities each and every day. However, we must be able to recognize them, and be prepared to discuss VFW membership with potential candidates. Recruiting opportunities occur when we see someone with a veterans sticker on their vehicle or on their cap, etc. Additionally, we want you to set up recruiting booths anywhere there are a large number of people. Remember: This is a numbers game. The more people you talk to, the higher your chances of success. Will we get them all? No, but with consistent recruiting activities, we will get new members. Page 1 of 6

2 Reinstating prior unpaid members is also a large priority in our Membership Program. We have provided hundreds of names to each District Commander, and each Post should be in contact with them to plan a campaign to work with these prior members. Are these lists 100% accurate? No, they are not. As with any such list, you will find good and bad information on it, and you have to be willing to follow up and locate the people who are still at the addresses we provide you. If you are persistent, you will find some good names; but you must put out the effort to be successful. If you want to narrow your search down, you can give us a Zip Code for the area you want to work, and then we can determine a radius around that Zip Code. For example, 5, 10, 15, or 20 miles; and we will and provide names that go as far back as 9 years. If that would be helpful, contact our State Headquarters with the Zip Code for the area in which you wish to work. We will be having our Dues Roundup from Sept. 28 through the 30 th. District Commanders and Post Commanders, please help us make this a successful weekend! Contact each Post in the District and ask them to have someone represent them at your scheduled location. You elected your state Officers and our Commander, and they are taking that weekend away from their families to come to see you. Surely, you can take a couple of hours of your time to show up! We will be collecting dues at each location and hope you will have some to physically turn in. Don t tell us the quartermaster transmitted the dues yesterday. If they did that, all is well...but we will be looking for actual dues to be turned in at your location. District Commanders: You have Assistant Membership Directors assigned to your District. Stay in contact with them and USE them. They are there to help you. I would like to mention that Past State Commander and Assistant Membership Director, Joe Stachon, is at home, following his recent shoulder surgery, so he will be on the sidelines for a while as he recuperates. Finally, I want to remind you that Membership is one of most difficult tasks each year. We must maintain a positive attitude, and simply do the things we must do to achieve our goals. Stay active and use the tools we have provided. If we can be of help in any way, let me know how we can assist you. Thanks to all of you for what you do for the VFW, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. AMERICANISM PROGRAM Tom Davidson, Director Home: Cell: pastcomm7@yahoo.com There are two events that your Post or District can put on for Americanism in September. September 11th is Patriot Day and National Day of Remembrance and Service; the 17 th is Constitution and Citizenship Day. If your District or Post puts on one of these events make sure that your local towns and newspapers know about it so they can promote it in your Community. The Teacher of the Year Program should now be started at The Post Level. All forms and deadlines can be found on the Department Web site. Go to The Department Commanders Leadership Manual and click Americanism. If you have any problems finding it just call me and Page 2 of 6

3 I can walk you through it. Remember that No Post can make All American Commander unless they submit at least one Teacher for the District Judging. Please, if you have questions or are having any problems just call me I will be glad to help you. My Cell number is (847) MARKETING PROGRAM At the August Council of Administration Meeting, the members of our council approved the Marketing program. Below are some of the fundraising efforts underway in the Marketing program Illinois VFW Raffle Calendar - The 2019 Illinois VFW Raffle Calendar is on sale through the Illinois VFW State Headquarters Office. Calendars are $20 each and must be paid for in advance. The drawing will begin with the Illinois Lottery Midday Pick Four drawing on January 1, 2019 and continue daily through December 31, The Midday Pick 4 will determine each day s winning calendar. For Posts and/or Districts needing calendars to sell, we can (upon request of the Post/District) send calendars on consignment (no money in advance needed). I will note which calendars are out to the Posts and Districts. As calendars sell, please send the money and completed stub to Headquarters Office. The calendars can be paid with a credit or debit card online and the stub scanned and ed to me. This is a great way to support our Veterans Service programs while having an opportunity to win 365 times in The raffle calendar will take the place of the 2019 Mid-Winter Sweepstakes Raffle in February. Complete rules can be found on our website and in the calendar itself. Veterans Service Supporter Program Districts, Posts, Auxiliaries and individuals can show their support for our Veterans Service programs through our Red, White and Blue Veterans Service Supporter program. We have established three levels of Sponsorships Red for those making donations of at least $1,000; White for those making $500 donations and Blue for those making donations of $250. Supporters will receive a plaque denoting their level of support and signs will be displayed at our Mid-Winter Conference and State Convention. Fall Program Book - The 2018 Fall Program book theme will focus on our Post Namesakes. What better way to showcase the good works of our Posts in our communities than by highlighting how our Posts names came to be. The Fall Program Book Ad order form is in your folders, in the General Orders and can also be found in our Marketing Program. Posts are invited and encouraged to share the history of their Post s Namesake (whether it s named after your community or individual(s) from your community) and to support our Veterans Service Programs by submitting an ad in our Program Book. Let s make this a Program Book every Post will want to cherish. The deadline to participate in the Fall Program book is September 30. These books will be given to the District Commanders at the November 3-4 Mini Council meeting in Peoria for distribution to Posts within their Districts. Collins Flag Program - The Collins Flag Program enables you to purchase all types of flags at a reduced price and each time you buy a flag, the State of Illinois Veterans of Foreign Wars receives $1. This is a great opportunity to purchase a new flag for a local business, courthouse, Mayor s Office, City Hall, or just a local veteran who would be honored to display it and his or her patriotism! We will send out their new catalog to each Post when we mail out our Roster Page 3 of 6

4 Books. U.S. Law Shield U.S. Law Shield provides legal defense for self defense. At the August Council of Administration Meeting, the council members approved a fundraising effort with U.S. Law Shield. For each membership our membership purchases from U.S. Law Shield, the Illinois VFW will receive $30. The monies will be distributed in the following manner - $15 to Department; $7.50 to the Post in which that member maintains his or her membership and $7.50 to the District in which that Post is located. This money will specifically support the Veterans Service Office. US Law Shield can contact our membership in a number of ways a. Face to face meetings held at the Posts. Your Post leaders can set these meetings up directly with US Law Shield; b. a hyperlink on our website which would connect our members to the US Law Shield website. c. A promo code unique to the Illinois VFW which our members would then text to US Law Shield. d. The US Law Shield Customer Service telephone number. If your Post or District would like to set up a meeting and invite U.S. Law Shield to provide a presentation, please contact Tony Andrea at (630) or via at aandrea@uslawshield.com. Lifesource Lifesource is the blood donor organization working in the Chicagoland area. They contacted us regarding their Donor Rewards Program where members earn points each time they successfully donate. These points can be redeemed through their online store, or donated to the Illinois VFW to help fund our Veterans Service Office. That donor program is underway and the first donation check should be sent to Headquarters Office in October. If you belong to Lifesource s Donor Rewards Program, please consider donating a portion of your points to the Illinois VFW. NATIONAL HOME Michael J. McGrath, Director (630) mackcav1@sbcglobal.nett Page 4 of 6 **** THANK YOU **** Our thanks go out to the Department of Illinois "Veterans of Foreign Wars" for all of the help given to our National Home and its mission of caring for children of our military and veterans. War always takes its toll and a very high price has been paid by our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families; many of them have experienced multiple tours of duty and the multiple hardships and fearfulness that go with it. Even today we still have troops overseas in harms way protecting our Country and our freedom. They need and deserve our help. Our National Home is well equipped to help our veterans and their families and has done so since We are proud to say it is the "VFW" National Home for Children. This is something special that only the "VFW " has to offer our veterans and their families. It is a great membership benefit we can provide for VFW members and their families!

5 Because of this we are especially enthusiastic to again provide the information about Illinois Day for you. We hope you'll come out and be with us and again, thank you. **** ILLINOIS DAY **** Illinois Day at the National Home is scheduled for Saturday, September 22, 2018, and as in the past, there will also be a get together on Friday, September 21 at the local VFW Post in Charlotte, Michigan for those arriving on Friday afternoon. Comrades, we will look forward to cold beverages and good cheer starting at 5 pm with dinner at 6:30 pm. (Michigan time) On the menu will be "grilled pork chops" with all the trimmings with karaoke and camaraderie after dinner. Charlotte VFW Post 2406 is called "The Maple City Post". The address is 695 Lansing Road, Charlotte, Michigan The phone number is Illinois Day on Saturday, September 22 begins at 9 am with registration and tours of both our beautiful campus and Illinois homes I and II. There will also be activities in the community center for all to enjoy. Exciting new improvements have been made that make this years trip special... Don't miss this trip.! Lunch will be at noon and the program at 1pm. We will have the Silver March at the end of the program. *Please note that Michigan is in the eastern time zone, one hour ahead * If needed, you can make your own accommodations at nearby motels: Comfort Inn, Charlotte Packard Hwy, Charlotte MI America's Best Value Inn E. Shepherd St., Charlotte, MI Holiday Inn Charlotte Meijer St, Charlotte, MI And as in previous years, we would appreciate a head count for both Friday and Saturday for food purposes. Please reach out if any questions, we are glad to help you. And thank you for all you do. Page 5 of 6

6 VOICE OF DEMOCRACY Robert E. McLeod, Director (708) We are in September now and school has started; by now the posts should have made contact with schools and home schooled students. If you are chairman for your post and you have not made contact with students at all, NOW IS THE TIME to visit students and their families. With a state this large we should get at least 3000 students to made entries for the Voice of Democracy. Post and District chairmen - come up with something new in your communities on letting the students know about the Voice of Democracy audio/essay contest. Page 6 of 6