October 31, 2009 DIVISION COMMANDER DEPARTMENT % OF GOAL I Robert Linder California 99.17 II Alfred L. Holtan Minnesota 99.99 III Holly Hoppe Wisconsin 98.88 IV Dave Thornburg Iowa 99.54 V Robert W. Hill South Dakota 100.36 The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. -- Mark Twain Ahead of the Times This month, our good friends at USA Today wrote an article titled American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts struggle. As you can imagine, the article focused on the loss of posts and decline of membership for two of the three most-known veterans service organizations. We recognize that the times are changing. It would have been nice if in addition to pointing out obvious challenges we face as a multi-generational community the USA Today would have mentioned our continued successes and our most recent landmark achievement with advance funding for the VA. Nor does the article point out what veterans service organizations are doing to ensure the future holds the same grass-roots support that fuels and drives our advocacy, service and achievements. In the eight decades we ve been carrying the torch for disabled veterans and their families, we ve faced ebbs and flows in membership. Most importantly, we ve grown with the times. We ve improvised, adapted and overcome obstacles to become the premiere service organization for our community. Our recent efforts with the Virtual March on Washington, D.C. and our participation in social networking today is just a start for a direction we re taking to evolve with changing times and reach out to a new generation. We re exploring other ways where we can use technology to improve the way we do business and engage our audience.
We re not taking any idea off the table when it comes to our future. We re in preliminary discussions on forming a virtual chapter to engage interested members. There are issues we re examining, of course. In our push to broaden access to new members, we re not about to isolate our longtime members who are doing great things in the real world. Also, our constitution and bylaws have some very specific guidelines that we need to address that impact how we handle business. But we re going to continue to look for solutions that make sense and to educate and encourage our leaders in the field to use every available tool to reach out, mentor and motivate participation to advance our cause. MID-WINTER RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER National Commander Roberto Barrera will deliver the DAV s Legislative Presentation to Congress at the 2010 Mid-Winter Conference in Arlington, Virginia, March 1-3. This important gathering is the place to be. Get an in-depth perspective on the crucial issues facing disabled veterans and their families and visit your Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill and have a personal say in veterans affairs. The support and direct action by members and Chapter and Department leaders from across the country are crucial to making our legislative priorities a success. The agenda includes exciting, informative workshops and seminars that will help individual members, Chapters and Departments even more effective in building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The meeting will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., Feb. 28 to Mar. 3. Special rates for attendees start at $189 for single/double occupancy. Identify yourself as a member and make reservations by calling (703) 920-3230. DAV PARTNERS WITH HISTORY CHANNEL S TAKE A VETERAN TO SCHOOL Disabled American Veterans is proud to partner with HISTORY Channel on a campaign to pay tribute to the servicemen and women of America. In November, HISTORY will debut a groundbreaking miniseries, WWII in HD, the first WWII documentary in full, immersive HD color. Culled from 3,000 hours of lost color footage, WWII in HD features the epic accounts of ten real soldiers who experienced this defining conflict. In addition shedding new light on the experiences of our brave World War II veterans, the premiere of WWII in HD will shine a light on Take a Veteran to School, HISTORY s pro-social initiative to honor veterans of all wars by connecting them with schools and communities across the country. To learn how you can participate in Take a Veteran to School, please visit: www.veterans.com http://www.veterans.com. And please be sure to tune in to WWII in HD this November, only on HISTORY.
MEMBER BENEFIT: HICKORY FARMS The tradition, taste and All-American appeal of Hickory Farms is now available to DAV Members for 15% off their regular cost. Brighten someone's day with one of Hickory Farms' innovative gifts or timeless classics. Hickory Farms has a wide assortment of classic beef and cheese gifts, premium fruit, steaks, seafood, dessert, snacks, nuts, and so much more. The DAV receives a 5% commission from the total purchases made, which helps support DAV services and programs. Visit the website at: http://www.hickoryfarms.com/cs_dava.asp?campaigntype=dav&campaignname=default or call 1-800-222-GIFT and give the phone operator code 823594, to receive the discount. LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP: NEVER QUIT On Dec. 23, 2004, during back-clearing missions in Fallujah, Iraq, a squad of Marines came upon 40 insurgents in the second story of a neighborhood residence. Marine Cpl. Jeremiah Workman and Sgt. Jarrett Kraft, friends and fellow squad leaders, saw their fellow Marines in peril. They fought up a stairwell to where the fighting was most fierce, but were blown back down by a grenade. Despite their injuries, they ran up the stairs a second time and fought until they were out of ammunition. The Marines kept fighting until all their fellow warriors could get free including two fallen team members who were pulled out from a balcony. Both men were awarded the Navy Cross for valor. Long after our time in service is over, we continue an honorable fight to ensure our nation lives up to its obligations to disabled veterans and their families. When we think of what our brothers and sisters have sacrificed to maintain the freedom and way of life we enjoy today, we know we have a duty to continue our fight no matter what obstacles we face. IN CLOSING We kind of looked at each other and knew we were going to get killed. -- Marine Sgt. Jarrett Kraft, Navy Cross Recipient ANTHONY L. BASKERVILLE National Membership Director
Membership Standings As of 10/31/2009 Present Standing State Life Member Population Life % of Variance Division I - Over 35,000 Members 1 CALIFORNIA 66,034 66,586 99.17% -552 2 NEW YORK 46,522 46,915 99.16% -393 3 PENNSYLVANIA 32,056 32,492 98.66% -436 4 OHIO 29,900 30,454 98.18% -554 5 FLORIDA 53,645 54,683 98.10% -1,038 6 VIRGINIA 22,800 23,350 97.64% -550 7 TEXAS 51,643 53,006 97.43% -1,363 8 NORTH CAROLINA 28,776 29,567 97.32% -791 Division Totals 331,376 337,053 98.32% -5,677 Division II - 18,000 To 34,999 Members 1 MINNESOTA 15,849 15,851 99.99% -2 2 COLORADO 16,290 16,293 99.98% -3 3 MASSACHUSETTS 29,307 29,514 99.30% -207 4 NEW JERSEY 17,882 18,070 98.96% -188 5 KENTUCKY 16,903 17,092 98.89% -189 6 MICHIGAN 24,027 24,404 98.46% -377 7 WASHINGTON 17,130 17,398 98.46% -268 8 MISSOURI 15,299 15,555 98.35% -256 9 OKLAHOMA 15,292 15,566 98.24% -274 10 ILLINOIS 16,336 16,695 97.85% -359 11 ARIZONA 16,038 16,432 97.60% -394 12 TENNESSEE 13,794 14,144 97.53% -350 13 ALABAMA 14,206 14,725 96.48% -519 14 GEORGIA 15,484 16,158 95.83% -674 Division Totals 243,837 247,897 98.36% -4,060 Division III - 10,000 To 17,999 Members 1 WISCONSIN 14,594 14,760 98.88% -166 2 NEW MEXICO 9,353 9,498 98.47% -145 3 LOUISIANA 8,455 8,595 98.37% -140 4 INDIANA 13,882 14,139 98.18% -257 5 MARYLAND 12,948 13,203 98.07% -255 6 ARKANSAS 10,806 11,028 97.99% -222 7 OREGON 7,631 7,794 97.91% -163 8 SOUTH CAROLINA 11,927 12,286 97.08% -359 Division Totals 89,596 91,303 98.13% -1,707 11/1/2009 Page 1 of 2 10:30 am
Membership Standings As of 10/31/2009 Present Standing State Life Member Population Life % of Variance Division IV - 5,000 To 9,999 Members 1 IOWA 6,540 6,570 99.54% -30 2 RHODE ISLAND 4,705 4,729 99.49% -24 3 HAWAII 4,513 4,556 99.06% -43 4 NEW HAMPSHIRE 4,984 5,037 98.95% -53 5 CONNECTICUT 7,881 7,970 98.88% -89 6 NEVADA 5,133 5,195 98.81% -62 7 NEBRASKA 5,830 5,903 98.76% -73 8 UTAH 4,386 4,445 98.67% -59 9 MAINE 6,717 6,811 98.62% -94 10 KANSAS 6,474 6,574 98.48% -100 11 MISSISSIPPI 5,606 5,700 98.35% -94 12 WEST VIRGINIA 7,668 7,828 97.96% -160 13 IDAHO 4,313 4,434 97.27% -121 14 PUERTO RICO 6,775 7,002 96.76% -227 Division Totals 81,525 82,754 98.51% -1,229 Division V - Less than 5,000 Members 1 SOUTH DAKOTA 4,224 4,209 100.36% 15 2 MONTANA 3,615 3,667 98.58% -52 3 WYOMING 1,599 1,623 98.52% -24 4 NORTH DAKOTA 4,127 4,191 98.47% -64 5 DELAWARE 2,064 2,104 98.10% -40 6 ALASKA 2,385 2,433 98.03% -48 7 D C 1,838 1,878 97.87% -40 8 VERMONT 2,330 2,385 97.69% -55 Division Totals 22,182 22,490 98.63% -308 National Totals 826,198 838,193 98.57% -11,995 11/1/2009 Page 2 of 2 10:30 am