American Legion Auxiliary Department Of Florida Past Presidents Parley Program Action Plan

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1 American Legion Auxiliary Department Of Florida Past Presidents Parley Program Action Plan As we Navigate for our Veterans and their families in the Department of Florida, members of Past Presidents Parley on all levels are encouraged to model the ideals of Justice, Freedom, Democracy and Loyalty and Service Not Self while enthusiastically serving to build a strong future for the American Legion Auxiliary. Hats Off to the extraordinary women honored by this committee, unit members, servicewomen, lady veterans and nurses. Our National President s theme is A.L.A. Member Pride, encouraging everyone to Raise What You Praise and thank your fellow Auxiliary sister for her contributions to your Unit, District and Department. What is a parley? A parley is defined as a group of individuals gathered together to discuss a specific topic. A Past Presidents Parley is an opportunity for Past Presidents on all levels to contribute to the advancement of their Unit, District or Department. Why do we have a Past Presidents Parley? Active Service of Past Presidents: As a Past President, you are a leader and confidant in your Unit, District and Department. Through your distinguished service you have acquired knowledge and insight into the American Legion Auxiliary and our programs. By utilizing our Past Presidents, Unit, District and Department officers, future leaders and new members will benefit from their guidance and mentorship. Helen Gardner Unit Member of the Year Award: The Department of Florida will continue to encourage each Unit to submit an entry to honor and recognize the accomplishments of one exemplary Unit member. Honoring Active- Duty and Female Veterans: A major focus of Past Presidents Parley is to celebrate and honor the service of lady veterans and to present the Salute to Servicewomen Award. This award honors and recognizes the contributions and accomplishments of the servicewomen in today s Armed Forces. Nominees from each branch of service (Army, Navy, Air Force Marines and Coast Guard) will be honored at Department Convention and entries will be forwarded to National. Nurses Scholarships: To assist deserving students who are pursuing an education in the nursing field. To aid you to stay on course, President Kelli s logo the compass has 4 points. Use these 4 points on your charted journey this year. N for Nurture our Organization S for Service to our Female Veterans E for Every volunteer is valuable W for Welcome new members

2 What can you do? Activities and ideas Acknowledging our Past Presidents Department, District or Unit Level v Embrace and recognize the wealth of knowledge of our Past Presidents. v Dedicate a living memorial or a permanent remembrance. v Send Thank You, Birthday and Holiday cards. v Mentor a new member. v Select a special project and support with time and/or donations. v Instruction of protocol. v Form a membership phone tree. v Host a dinner, luncheon, breakfast, or tea to honor your Past Presidents. v Assist with Initiation Ceremony, if asked. v Visit home- bound Presidents. v Be a cheerleader for the Unit. v Have a positive attitude. Promote the Helen Gardner Unit Member of the Year Award Department Level v Encourage Units to submit an outstanding member for this award. v Emphasize how important the application criteria and rules are. v Recognize the winner at Department Convention. v Budget to send Department winner to National Convention for the Women of the Year Luncheon. District and Unit Level v Encourage Units to submit an outstanding member for this award. v Emphasize how important the application criteria and rules are. v Assist with writing the narrative, if asked. v Honor her within the Unit. Salute to Servicewoman of the Year Award Department Level v Encourage Units to seek out deserving women to apply for this award. v Emphasize how important the application criteria and rules are. v Recognize all nominees at Department Convention. District and Unit Level v Encourage Units to nominate a deserving active- duty female. v Contact your local military base to identify possible nominees. v Honor all nominees at a Unit event. Honoring Active- Duty Females Department, District or Unit Level v Send care packages. v Attend Deployment and Welcome Home events. v Host a Unit event/lunch and thank them for their Service. v Send Thank You cards.

3 Honoring Lady Veterans Department, District or Unit Level v Host a lunch/dinner to celebrate their service to our Country. v February 14 th is National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Day. Try to make it special for our veterans. v Encourage local schools to make cards or crafts and deliver them. v Contact your local V.A. Domiciliary to find out what the needs are of the female patients. v Send Thank You cards. v Adopt local nursing home residents. v Have a fundraiser for President Kelli s special project Final Salute Inc. Promote Nursing Scholarships Unit Level v Contact local colleges to promote Unit scholarship opportunities. v Initiate, host or help plan a fundraiser. v Create a Unit Nursing Scholarship. v Donate to local nursing schools/colleges scholarship funds. Our Hats are Off to the women we recognize and celebrate through Past Presidents Parley. Hats Off Book of Honor Has a Past President mentored, inspired, challenged and encouraged you to excel in the American Legion Auxiliary? Write a narrative about how she made a difference in your life. I will be compiling all narratives and pictures (one per entry) I receive into a Department Book of Honor. Please mail all narratives to the Department Chairman by May 1, To achieve these goals, members of this committee on all levels are encouraged to follow T.G.I.F. Teach Guide Inspire Friend All Presidents are encouraged to sign- up for my weekly uplifting e- mail T.G.I.F. If you do not have an e- mail, please give me your mailing address. Past Presidents Parley Reporting A Unit mid- year and year- end narrative report is required. Both reports should be mailed to the District Chairman by December 1, 2016 for mid- year and April 1, 2017 for year- end. A District mid- year and year- end narrative is required. Both reports should be mailed to the Department Chairman by December 15, 2016 for mid- year and April 15, 2017 for year- end.

4 Past Presidents Parley Awards Department Helen Gardner Unit Member of the Year: To recognize the contribution made by a dedicated Unit member who is hardworking and always willing to go that extra step. The nomination is based on the member s achievements and activities for the current year in a program or project. Completed entry form and narrative must be mailed to the Department President and received by May 1, Complete rules for this award are in the Unit Guide. The Department of Florida winner will be forwarded to National for the Unit Member of the Year. Salute to Servicewoman of the Year v Nominees should be willing to attend National Convention, if possible. v All entry forms, including a narrative/youtube video, must be completed and submitted by the deadline. A You/Tube video can take the place of a written narrative. Please see award sheet for details. v Entry must have the nominee s name, Unit name and number (if applicable), and most importantly, contact information for the servicewoman. v One applicant for each branch of service per Unit will be accepted. v All entries must be postmarked by May 1, 2017 and sent to the Department Chairman. You Tube Video Checklist If you choose to submit a video, please be sure to check that your video: Does not contain any copyrighted music, video, images or text (not legally owned) Is not set to private; your video must be public Is under 2 GB in size Is in AVI, MOV, WMV or MPG file format Is 3 minutes or less in length If your video contains inappropriate or copyrighted material, YouTube will remove your video and your nomination will be disqualified. Need help uploading a video to YouTube? Check out the YouTube Help Center at Department Chairman s Award Top Hat Award Will be presented to the Unit and District, submitting the best narrative (including a cover sheet) detailing how you took your Hats Off to the women recognized and honored through this Chairmanship. Please include Unit/District name and number and Unit/District President and Chairman on the cover sheet. Please mail narrative to the Department Chairman by May 1, 2017

5 How to Mentor a New Member Unit Past Presidents Parley Responsibilities v Offer to escort a new member to your meeting. v Introduce her to your President as well as other members in attendance. Ask her to share a little about herself. The information could be helpful to determine a committee she may be interested in. Have members introduce themselves. v As each report is given, request that the chairman explain the purpose of the program and how the Unit supports it. Explain the duties of Officers and chairman. v Help maintain a positive attitude and assist in avoiding controversy during the meeting. Interject some occasional humor to help make the meeting fun. v A prospective member is more likely to join if she feels she is joining an organization that is fun and whose activities support the community. All members will be more willing to attend meetings and assist with activities if the meetings are short and interesting. Remind the members to try new ideas without criticism if they fail. Suggest trying something else. Help keep the meeting moving toward a positive conclusion. v Evaluate your new member s capabilities, if you feel she is ready to participate, ask her which program she is interested in. Discourage naming a new member as an officer or chairman, but instead suggest she be given the opportunity of working on a committee with an experienced chairman. v Past Presidents should advise when asked, but preferably not serve as a chairman. Chairmanships should be held by other members so they can learn the programs and become good unit leaders and develop knowledge and move into District and Department positions. v As a Past President, you may wish to promote the nomination of a Unit Member of the Year. You may take the lead in recommending servicewoman to submit for an award. Develop a fundraising activity for donations to a nursing scholarship program. v Continue to support through your ongoing leadership.

6 American Legion Auxiliary Past Presidents Parley Preamble for Past Presidents For God and Country, we, the Past Presidents, associate ourselves together for the following purposes: To uphold and defend the prestige of our Unit, District and Department; To maintain honor and dignity; To foster and perpetuate interest and concern for the future of our Unit, District and Department; To preserve the memories and incidents of our association throughout the past years; To combat the lack of interest of members in both the classes and the masses; To make right past mistakes; to promote peace and goodwill among all; To safeguard and transmit to those who follow us, the principles of dedication, sincerity and hard work; To participate in and contribute to whatever task the Post may ask of us; To consecrate and sanctify our association by our devotion to our Unit, District and Department.

7 Resources How to Mentor a New Member Thank You Card Preamble for Past Presidents Nursing Programs affiliated with V.A. Hospitals Bay Pines St. Petersburg College University of South Florida University of Central Florida Largo Medical Center Lake City Gateway College Miami Florida International University Tampa University of South Florida Gainesville University of Florida University of Central Florida Orlando University of Central Florida Jacksonville University West Palm Florida Atlantic Palm Beach State College Dee Bell Past Presidents Parley Chairman nd Ave St. Pete Beach, FL H C

8 Past Presidents Parley Committee Award Entry Form UNIT MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD A Unit Member of the Year from each department will be recognized annually at the American Legion Auxiliary National Convention. Requirements: 1. Open to senior members who are not in an elected or appointed leadership role higher than unit president. 2. Each department may submit only one entry. Units must submit a narrative of 1,000 words or less describing the nominee s accomplishments and activities together with the nominee s name and address. Nominating Department: Dept PPP Chairman Information Name: Address: Telephone Number: Nominee Information Name: Address: Phone: Nominee s Unit Name and Number: Form must be completed and submitted to National Vice Chairman Nancy Brown-Park by June 1, National Committee Vice Chairman Nancy Brown-Park Cabazon Peak Dr. Palm Desert, CA brownpark1@me.com Past Presidents Parley

9 Past Presidents Parley Committee SALUTE TO SERVICEWOMEN AWARD NOMINATION FORM Established in 2003, this award has evolved from honoring women veterans to honoring women who are currently serving our country in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard (includes National Guard and Reserve components of each branch). One servicewoman from each branch of service will be recognized at the American Legion Auxiliary National Convention. Recipients attend the later portion of the 2017 National Convention in Reno, Nevada, as guests of the Auxiliary. Nomination Criteria: A woman currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces (active duty or Reserve). Demonstrate a track record of exemplary service both in and out of uniform. A narrative or YouTube video that shows the servicewoman demonstrating exemplary service both in and out of uniform, making her the future face of women in the military. Servicewoman must be willing to be a guest of the Auxiliary and speak to the general assembly of the American Legion Auxiliary National Convention. All nomination forms must be submitted by June 1, YouTube Video Checklist If you choose to submit a video, please be sure to check that your video: does not contain any copyrighted music, video, images or text (not legally owned) is not set to "private;" your video must be public. is under 2GB in size is in.avi,.mov,.wmv, or.mpg file formats is 3 minutes or less in length Next Steps: The nominating person or the servicewoman writes a narrative (750 words or less) or creates a YouTube video (3 minutes or less) that shows the nominated servicewoman demonstrating exemplary service both in and out of uniform making her the future face of women in the military. The following form must be completed and submitted by June 1, 2017, to National Chairman Virginia Hobbs. Written narratives should be attached. YouTube video links should be pasted in the box provided on the following form.

10 Servicewoman s Name: Servicewoman s Servicewoman s Phone Number: Servicewoman s Branch of Service: Servicewoman s Rank: Servicewoman s Date of Enlistment: Servicewoman s Awards and Decorations, if any: Name of Person Making this Nomination, if not the nominee: of Person Making this Nomination, if not the nominee: Phone Number of Person Making this Nomination, if not the nominee: Is the servicewoman able to attend National Convention? Is the servicewoman comfortable with public speaking? Would servicewoman be willing to write a narrative/create a video? Written Narrative: 1) please attach separate document to this form. 2) or type narrative directly into the box to the right. YouTube Video: copy and paste your video link in the box to the right. Yes Yes Yes No No No Return completed nomination form to Past Presidents Parley National Chairman Virginia Hobbs, 297 Terrace Drive, Radcliff, KY , or to virginiahobbs@yahoo.com.

11 American Legion Auxiliary National Award Cover Sheet This cover sheet should be attached to each narrative submitted for a national award. Please fill out the information as completely and accurately as possible. Award certificates will be completed using the information given on this sheet, so please write carefully. All awards will be mailed to the department office after national convention. Department presidents may wish to recognize award recipients by presenting them at a department function. National committee sponsoring award: Type of Award: Department Unit Member Name of the award you are applying for: Complete the following if you are applying for a department award: Name of department: Name of department chairman: Chairman s phone number: ( ) ALA member ID#: Chairman s address: Please complete the following if you are applying for a unit award. Be sure to give the complete name of your unit. The award certificate will be prepared using the information you include below. Unit #: Full official unit name: Name of department: Unit president/chairman (circle one) name: _ Phone number: (_ ) ALA member ID#: address: Please complete the following if you are applying for a member award. Be sure to give the complete name of the member. The award certificate will be prepared using the information you include below. Unit #: Full official unit name: Name of department: Member Name: ALA member ID#: Nominating Member (if different from above): Nominator s Phone number: ( ) Nominator s address: Please see your committee Programs Action Plan to determine where to send this form.

12 Recipe for an Amazing Woman Start with faith and honesty. Mix in pure humility Add strength and character that rises, Above the stress of life s surprises. Fold in personality Toss with generosity Pour in love from a heart that s true Yield: One terrific amazing You!