Executive Director's Report JAN 2026

Dear ALA Leaders, 

January marked a strong start to the new year, with steady progress across programs, membership, communications, and operations. As we begin 2026, staff remains focused on carrying forward the momentum built in recent months while preparing for several important conversations and milestones ahead. 

Earlier this month, we started working through our timelines related to the strategic planning process, and I appreciate the continued engagement and guidance from the Strategic Planning Committee. We will have an opportunity to discuss strategic planning in more detail later this month, including next steps and upcoming touchpoints with the NEC. 

This month, I was able to attend Mission Training events in Indianapolis and Atlanta. It was such a pleasure to see our engaged members and leaders collaborating and sharing best practices. I met some incredible Juniors as well. Our future remains bright and in capable hands.   I also want to share a short “Meet Ben” video that was recently released as a lighthearted way for members and leaders to get to know me better. I’m sure most of you have already seen this, but the team tells me I have to share it again.  

Finally, I’m pleased to share that renovations to the National Headquarters restroom facilities are now complete. With this work finished, we are ready to welcome and host leaders and visitors at National Headquarters in the months ahead. 

Below are January’s highlights and updates across the divisions. 

Highlights 

Mission Training success: Mission Training and national Junior meetings concluded this month, marking the most successful year of these trainings since their launch in 2011, with more than 700 ALA members participating across five locations. Participation from The American Legion and Sons of The American Legion also increased over last year. 

Continued membership momentum: Seven units were chartered in January, bringing the total to 34 year-to-date. Renewal activity remained steady through mailed notices, email outreach, phone renewals, and Paid Up For Life processing. 

Scholarship engagement growing: Scholarship applications continue to increase across all categories as the March 1 deadline approaches, reflecting continued awareness and interest in ALA education programs. 

Honor Flight partnership advancement: Preparations are underway for the Honor Flight Summit in late February, and the nomination portal for the American Legion Auxiliary-sponsored all-female Honor Flight is now live. 

Governance and financial readiness: Audit fieldwork is complete, NEC quarterly financial statements are being finalized, and preparations are underway for Finance Committee and NEC meetings later this month. 

FYI:  Auxiliary magazine production issue: Staff identified and responded to a rare printer error affecting a very small number (0.0008%) of February Auxiliary magazine copies. The issue has been addressed and detailed information is included in the Communications section below. 

ATTN: Membership Compliance Reminder 

The following guidance is shared at the request of The American Legion.

From Mark Seavey, National Judge Advocate, The American Legion: 

Effective immediately, the adjutant or secretary at each American Legion Auxiliary unit shall verify a member’s eligibility by reviewing documentation such as a DD214, then promptly return the document to the individual. No copies or electronic records containing Personally Identifiable Information shall be retained. Some units currently maintain decades of archived DD214s, including those of deceased members. These records should be securely destroyed to reduce exposure to identity theft and mitigate potential legal liability. 

Departments are asked to share this information widely with units, districts, counties, councils, and members. 

Programs 

The Programs Division is reviewing current relationships with outside organizations to identify opportunities that strengthen mission delivery for members. 

Preparations are underway to attend the Honor Flight Summit in Virginia in late February. The focus will be on collaboration between the American Legion Auxiliary and Honor Flight, appropriate use of Poppy Funds to support Honor Flight activities, and strengthening connections between Honor Flight hubs and local units. 

The nomination portal for the all-female veteran Honor Flight sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary is now live. This initiative provides an opportunity to honor and recognize women veterans through a meaningful and impactful experience.

With the Legion’s Washington Conference approaching at the end of February, we are working closely with American Legion staff to support a smooth and positive experience for all participants.

Scholarships 

• Deadline: March 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET 

• Applications received to date: 

• Children of Warriors: 107 

• Non-Traditional: 23 

• Spirit of Youth: 13 

• Member Loyalty: 4 

These application numbers offer insight into both engagement and awareness across scholarship programs. Historically, nearly half of all applications are submitted on the final day. While applicant behavior varies, staff has made adjustments to streamline the process and will continue to explore ways to strengthen promotion and education efforts to ensure consistent visibility for all scholarships. 

Program Activity 

• 12 Good Deed Awards and 4 Youth Hero Awards distributed 

• 86 Junior Patch Program patches awarded 

• 4 VAVS certification forms processed 

• 7 Q2 committee Zoom meetings held: 419 registered, 336 attended 

Membership 

Staff met with the National Vice President and incoming National Membership Committee chair to begin early planning for the 2027 membership year. 

The second mailed renewal notice for the 2026 membership year left the printer on Jan. 28, with 211,000 notices mailed. 

The second Paid Up For Life distribution was processed for members who converted between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. 

Annual 2026 ALAMIS invoices were finalized for each department. 

Jan. 21 Email to Expired Members (Last Renewed 2023) 

• 15,450 emails sent 

• 5,820 opens (38%) 

• 29 clicks (1%) 

• 239 bounce backs (2%) 

• 22 unsubscribes (1%) 

• 100 expired members renewed for 2026 as of Jan. 30 

The open rate is strong for a targeted re-engagement message and unsubscribes remain low. While click-through activity is limited, renewal activity from this outreach is ongoing, with 100 members renewed to date. 

Additional Metrics 

• Phone renewals: 1,319 processed 

• Unit growth: 7 units chartered or rechartered in January; 34 total YTD 

• Paid Up For Life: 12 applications processed 

• ALAMIS: 98 new users set up; 2 Department Full User trainings conducted 

• ALAMIS setups were temporarily paused beginning Jan. 5 to allow for annual department billing and will resume Feb. 1. 

Events & Education 

ALA Academy LIVE Webinars 

• Planning and Hosting a Successful American Legion Family Day 

  Feb. 10 | 7:30–8:30 p.m. ET 

• Using Social Media to Promote Your Local ALA 

  Feb. 17 | Noon–1:00 p.m. ET 

December and January webinar recordings are now available in the ALA Academy. 

Mission Training & National Junior Meetings 

Mission Training and national Junior meetings concluded Feb. 7 in Atlanta, completing the most successful year since the program began in 2011. More than 700 ALA members attended across five locations, with increased participation from The American Legion and Sons of The American Legion in Indianapolis and Atlanta. 

Dates and locations for the 2026–2027 Mission Training cycle will be announced during the May Department Leadership National Conference, with registration opening in late August. 

Communications & Marketing 

Work is underway on the May issue of Auxiliary magazine, which goes to press in mid-March. Auxiliary magazine is one of several national communications tools, alongside the ALA blog, ALA eNews, and other member-facing channels. 

Members with story ideas are encouraged to email PR@ALAforVeterans.org. 

Communications Metrics 

• Website (Past 30 Days) 

• Total users: 66,023 

• Top pages: 

• Member profile: 51,015 

• Public homepage: 28,207 

• Renew: 11,243 

• Registration: 9,643 

• Scholarships: 8,916 

Top downloads: 

• Americanism Essay Contest cover sheet: 693 

• Membership application: 623 

• PUFL application: 492 

• Social Media 

• ALANHQ Facebook followers: 34,341 as of Jan. 27 

• January engagement: 

• 164,000 page views 

• 296 comments 

• 630 shares 

• 2,626 reactions 

Top-performing content included member perks, Youth Hero and Good Deed Award recognition, RED Friday content, and veteran feature stories. 

ALA eNews 

• Total subscribers: 336,275 

• January issue: 

• 321,964 emails sent 

• 131,569 opens (40.9% open rate) 

• Desktop: 58% | Mobile: 42% 

The February ALA eNews is scheduled to publish Feb. 11. 

*Auxiliary Magazine Printing Issue 

Staff was alerted to a rare printer error affecting a very small number of February 2026 Auxiliary magazine copies, in which some pages were incorrectly inserted from a prior issue. Based on current information, this issue affected approximately 0.0008 percent of the total 594,068 copies mailed. 

With more than 80 years of combined print production experience, the magazine leadership team has not encountered a similar issue. The communications team followed its established 30-step production process, and ALANHQ staff did not contribute to the error. The February issue remains fully available online at www.ALAforVeterans.org/magazine. 

Development 

The American Legion Auxiliary launched a new national member benefit partnership with Legal Resources, an AMWINS product. This included coordination of an ALA Academy LIVE session focused on wills and estate planning to educate members and encourage utilization of the benefit. 

Staff also continued outreach with prospective and existing partners to strengthen benefit offerings, explore revenue-sharing models, and support long-term sustainability of ALA programs. 

Role responsibilities within the development team were refined to improve efficiency, accountability, and follow-up related to member benefits, retail partnerships, acknowledgements, and grant activity. 

Human Resources 

Compliance 

• Mailing W-2s and 1099s 

• Gathering information for the 401(k) Census Report 

Finance 

Our external auditing firm Blue & Co. completed audit fieldwork for both the ALA and ALA Foundation, with draft financials in progress. 

Work is underway to develop a data bridge between Concur and Financial Edge, which will reduce manual entry and improve efficiency in travel reimbursement processing. 

NEC quarterly financial statements for the period ending Dec. 31 are being finalized and will be included in the packet for the mid-year NEC meeting on Feb. 28. 

The Risk & Compliance Committee met with Blue & Co. on Jan. 26 to review audit materials in preparation for recommendations to the NEC.