Blog | Todd McKinley

My Current Public Involvement (May 19th)

Todd McKinley
Jan 16
2 min read

From time to time, I feel it's important to update the public as to what organizations and activities I particiapte in. I do this, because I feel I have an implied duty to do so. Take a look, if interested in knowing more, feel free to reach out anytime.

Ways to contact or find out more about me.

Veterans Service

American Legion Department of Tennessee Commander (June 15th, 2025 - Present)

In addition to serving as Department (State) Commander, I also serve as Chairman of the Department Executive Committee (DEC) and on the Department Legislative Committee as a Liason to Senator Bill Hagerty. I'm also a member of the National Legislative Council for the 119th Congress for TN-01 U.S. House District and was named National Member of the Week on five occassion, (April 6th, 2023, April 12th, 2024, May 17th, 2024, June 14th, 2024, & May 1st, 2026). Finally, I'm a member of the National Security Commission: Conventional Armed Forces Committee.

Take a look at the links below to learn more about what we're working on, but especially reach out if interested in joining.

Public Office & Politics

Sullivan County Board of Education, District 5 Representative (September 1st, 2024 - Present)

· Member: Sick Leave Committee

· Member: Collaborative Conferencing Committee

· Delegate: Tennessee School Board Association Convention (2025)

Email me if I can be of service, especially if you live in the 5th BOE District.

todd.mckinley@sullivank12.net

The Common Sense Conservatives:

I co-host The Common Sense Conservatives, which is a terrestrial Radio (AM & FM), that we stream and release as a podcast. (Live every Wednesday from 7 to 9 PM Eastern). "We make sense of the inverted reality we are subject to every day, The Common Sense Conservatives are here to help bring you back to reality…..Hosts, Chris Wyatt, Todd McKinley, and John Grosvenor." Watch or listen live or at your convenience at the following links.

www.toddmckinley.com/the-common-sense-conservatives

The Tennessee Conservative

I began cointributiong articles on May 18th, 2026.

https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/tag/todd-a-mckinley/

Host of the Northeast Tennessee Community Roundtable:

This is a revamp of my old Veterans Coffee Roundtable, the reason I've decided to revamp the name was I feel many outside Veteran Service Organization circles didn't know the public was invited, not just Veterans. Also, I want to make this a true civics meeting with a simple format that will hopefully grow and one that doesn't trade on the name Veteran.

Since retiring the Veterans Coffee Roundtable name last year, I've had dozens of people ask me if I'm going to restart it, or do something else. Well, I'm doing something similar but I'm looking to expand the reach and make civic life important again, which necessitated the name change.

Todd A. McKinley, BA, MSL

SFC, USA-Ret.

Todd@toddmckinley.com

www.toddmckinley.com

Department Rebranding Logos

Todd McKinley
Sep 3, 2025
1 min read

Updated: Jan 10

The following logos have been approved by national and we can now work on rebranding our department. Please download and use any of the following 4 emblems to rebrand your Post, District & Division.

Branding Works

Don't scoff and say that branding is pointless, and that it doesn't work on you. Now that you've had a chuckle, ask yourself what car brand are you loyal to and why. Click the pictures below and give a read.

“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”

Todd A. McKinley

Department Commander

American Legion Department of Tennessee

#BeTheOneTN

Todd McKinley
Aug 5, 2025
3 min read

Updated: May 3

Commission Motto

“VOLS: “Veterans Offering Lifesaving Services.”

Handout

Feel free to reproduce and share the commission's initial handout far and wide.

Promote Awareness

We need to continue to promote awareness for the following topics, as they're a major contributor to not only the Veteran suicide rate, but suicide rates in all demographics.

1.) Be The One Tennessee Day: We were successful in having March 12th, 2026 named as Be The One Day in Tennessee, and we've had several counties do the same. While the goal moving forward should be to have a dedicated day the whole state can get behind, these days could include suicide awareness classes in schools, government departments and agencies as well as willing public and private institutions, on-top of any other awareness raising events.

2.) Anti-Bullying Day: An estimated 6.500 children and young adults aged 10-24 commit suicide on an annual basis. Many who commit suicide do so because of bullying in our schools, which shouldn’t be tolerated, and our efforts can go a long way in eliminating bullying or instituting reasonable punishments for bullies.

3.) Post Traumatic Stress Day: Many Veterans, First Responders and others commit suicide directly due to Post Traumatic Stress. Identifying the signs and ways to address them is the first step in not only combatting suicide and many of the other problems caused by PTS.

4.) Traumatic Brain Injury Day: Traumatic brain injuries can have many causes and results, especially when it comes to behavioral, cognitive and physical health. Often, a TBI can lead someone to act in a manner they would never otherwise act, to include but not limited to harming others and taking their own life.

5.) Military Sexual Assault Trauma: This section wasn't originally part of my initial idea, but I've decided to add it after several fellow Legionnaires suggested it. I realize this is likely the most sensitive area given this involves crimes being committed against members of the military by other members and is one of the greatest betrayals one can perpetrate against another.

Legislation

When it comes to legislation dealing with the concerns listed in the Promote Awareness section, will require effort. To do this, we must foster great relationships with local, state and federal officials alike. Albeit this commission will focus primarily on the state level and in some respects the local level, we’re not going to ignore these concerns across the nation. For now, I’m not going to go into any detail, as there’s some legislation already on the books that merely needs to be enforced or rewritten, while some legislation will need to be written from scratch. This is where positive relationships will play into our favor. Remember, I’m not asking the commission to write legislation, just champion reasonable efforts that corelate to our mission, and anything else the commission decides to focus on, as long it doesn’t stray far from the spirit of the commission.

Hashtags

The following are suggested hashtags that may be used to promote our efforts on social media. The use of social media will go a long way to ensure we can collectively Be The One in our communities, state and nation. These are in alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of importance, as all are truly important.

“VOLS: Veterans Offering Lifelong Service”

Todd A. McKinley

Department Commander

American Legion Department of Tennessee