Fiscal Year End
Most of you have noticed and/or experienced the compliance to the four P’s we adhere to at the American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Michigan Headquarters. Ie, policy, protocol, procedure, and personal responsibility. We must follow the path and best practices our Department Executive Committees and the National Executive Committee have outlined and provided for us to be a successful business.
Some may recall the old days of missing transmittals, uncashed checks, messages (phone and email) unreturned, duplication of forms, cashed checks related to pending members left pending and ultimately being deleted from ALAMIS, incomplete/incorrect paperwork being retained by office personnel without correction or completion. All of these issues contributed to our Department being egregiously delinquent in all functions of the organization. Mike is diligently working to address and resolve decades of outstanding membership-related issues. Please be patient; it will take time.
It’s a new day, and I am happy to say we are making progress. Our membership is entered into ALAMIS and processed within 48 hours of being received, if all of the information is accurate and complete. This includes transmittals, transmittal lists, membership applications, member data forms, and checks. If the documentation we receive is outdated, inaccurate or the numbers just don’t add up, it is immediately returned to the Unit for correction. Following this practice allows the folk to handle your membership to learn and expand their knowledge of how the Auxiliary works.
There are two of us here at Department Headquarters, Mike and me. We are small in number but large on loyalty, motivation and duty to our Veterans. We have a Mission Possible before us, and we love to compete and win. If you follow our membership, you know we are close to having 30,000 Auxiliary members in Michigan. The ALA Department of Michigan is the fifth-largest Auxiliary in the entire Nation, and with your help, we can surpass 30,000 members as we celebrate America’s 250th birthday in 2026. Together, we will do everything we can to make this a Journey to remember! Service not Self.