Be The One: Mid-South Roundup (May15-17)

Legion Family,

2026 is here, and with the new year comes the first ever, American Legion Department of Tennessee's Be The One Mid-South Roundup. Thus far the Riders have put in a great deal of work, but now that May is just a few months away, we as a department need to kick it in gear and make this a true success. Please see check out the flyer for more information, but scroll to continue reading and remember, this event is open to the entire Legion Family, not Riders.

Be The One Commission

All proceeds go to support the department's newly formed Be The One Commission in their endeavors.

• www.toddmckinley.com/post/betheonetn

Help

There's many ways to help, from registering to attend, assisting in many other ways from volunteering to serve on the planning committee (FYI: YOU DON"T HAVE to BE a RIDER to VOLUNTEER), and yes, I plan to volunteer every day. We need help from the entire Legion Family to help promote and make this event a great success.

“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”

Todd A. McKinley

Department Commander

American Legion Department of Tennessee

Dept. CDR's Update (January 11th)

This week's shoutout goes to everyone who played a part in putting on this year's midwinter conference, from the headquarters staff and their awesome spouses, to those who merely attended one day, thank you. Special thank you to Dean and Kathy Tuttle, Mike and Mary Griffin, and Debi Cole for their hard work.

Weekly Schedule

• www.toddmckinley.com/post/dept-commander-s-schedule

• www.tennesseelegion.org/site/eventscalendar

Membership

January 14th is the 80% membership deadline day, but thanks to a handful of dedicated folks, we met that on new years eve. That said, we're presently at 81.41% and have slid to 24th place, but we're 1 of 22-23 Departments who've met every membership deadline. At present, we're well on our way to hit 85% ahead of schedule as well. However, I don't want you to think we can let up, not yet, in fact we need to blow past the 100% mark by late April and build up our numbers to make up for years of natural decline in membership. I also want to ensure whoever takes over as department commander (likely Tonya Launsby, she's awesome) has a descent membership base to pull from, after all, there's strength in numbers and we need to grow our active membership.

• www.legion.org/member-services/membership-standings

Voter Voice

I'll be honest, I'm not sure where we finished, but suffice to say, I hit Voter Voice everyday but one. As of Friday, January 9th, there's nothing on Voter Voice, but please check back every 24-hours.

• www.votervoice.net/AmericanLegion/home

Legion Family Day on the Hill (March 12th)

Please read the link for more information: www.toddmckinley.com/post/legion-family-day-on-the-hill-march-12th

Coming in May

The top two officers in the department will be there volunteering every day, will you?

“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”

Todd A. McKinley

Department Commander

American Legion Department of Tennessee

Legion Family Day on the Hill (March 12th)

Legion Family,

The first ever Legion Family Day on the Hill. will be held Thursday, March 12th in Nashville and will coincide with Be The One Day in Tennessee. Just before midwinter, I asked the Legislative Committee and Be The One Commission to come up with a reasonable agenda. This agenda will be approved by the Department Executive Committee and printed on a trifold handout and made available here as a special blog update amongst other places.

Why only the Legion Family?

The Legion Family Day on the Hill shouldn't be confused with a Veterans Day on the Hill as this event is purely for the Legion Family, which includes the American Legion, the Sons of the American Legion and our #1 ally the Legion Auxiliary. 

Q: Why aren't we looking to share our day with other fellow VSOs?

A: The reason is simple, I don't want our department's message to be lost in the shuffle. In other words, it's easier for an individual Legislator or the entire Legislature (which isn't going to happen) to ignore us when our message is drowned out by dozens of other Veteran Service Organizations. After all, we may not speak for other VSOs, but with everything we as an institution stand for, we look out for all Veterans and their families, especially orphaned children and widows. Also, if other organizations fail to comport themselves properly, then the Department of Tennessee will also get blamed and we'll certainly be ignored and likely not invited back in the future.

What to Expect

I'll be putting out more information in the coming weeks and months. But, for now, please mark March 12th on our calendar.

• www.facebook.com/share/17yCh4o9d1/

Your Input is Welcome

At present the only thing nailed down is the date, time and location (obviously). I've asked the Legislative Committee and Be The One Commission to come up with a reasonable department legislative agenda, which will be approved by the department executive committee. After which I'll publish for all to read here as a blog update.

If you have any input as to what our legislative agenda should be. then please message or email me your thoughts. After the agenda is finalized, it will be too late to add anything, until next year. After all, the process must be fair and open to everyone to have their thoughts heard.

“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”

Todd A. McKinley

Department Commander

American Legion Department of Tennessee