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First Vice Commander's Column

First let me thank you for letting me serve you
as First Vice Commander of this great Department of
Ohio this year. So many have of you have been
willing to offer advice and experience when I need
it and I could never begin to thank you all for the
friendships that have been made. You, the members
of The Department of Ohio, make this position as
First Vice an awesome experience and I am humbled
that you Legionnaires put your trust in me.
We in the state of Ohio have lost some great
Legionnaires this year. Brigadier General Paul W.
Tibbets (U.S.A.F.) Retired, Command Pilot of The
Enola Gay and member of Plain City Post 248.
(Recruited by Bill Coughenour). We also lost Dr.
Russell Coffey, one of only three known World War I
Veterans that were still living. Ohio is deep in
history and can be very proud of all the veterans
of this state.
Everyone who has heard me speak knows that I
talk membership; membership is not only the
responsibility of the First Vice Commanders.
Membership is the responsibility of every member
from the National Commander to the newest member in
your post. We just had our Mid-Winter Conference in
Columbus and were honored to have with us National
Commander Marty Conatser and Past National
Commander John Brieden. They talked Membership
(imagine that).
We are doing fairly well on membership but need
to do better, we need to reach out to our Post 888
Members and transfer them into our Post and get
them active. Also our men and women on active duty
are the young blood of our organization and they in
some cases don't even know we exist .Our women in
uniform now make up around 27% to 30% of our armed
forces. Don't let someone say I WAS NEVER ASKED. We
can reach our goal of quota if we work together as
a team.
Direct Mail Solicitation, D.M.S., Post 888,
whatever you call it is a great way of recruiting
Membership and the Posts which are using it is
shown in their standings in the Department
Membership rankings. If you need any help in
establishing a recruiting plan or want help
revitalizing an old post we have Jim Fiedler from
National H.Q. coming to Ohio March 25 through April
11. He is a recruiting expert and is more than
willing to help. Call Department Headquarters at
740-362-7478 to schedule him in your area.
NEVER FORGET OUR MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE NOW IN
HARMS WAY AND THOSE WHO WILL BE DEPLOYED.
Robert Kimball, 1st Vice
Commander
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