FEB 2026 Executive Director Report

Dear ALA Leaders,

Many of us began February in Atlanta for Mission Training, which served as the final event of the 2025–2026 Mission Training cycle. This year marked the most successful Mission Training program since its launch. Attendance reached an all-time high, juniors participation continues to trend in a positive direction, and participation from the broader Legion Family continues to grow. More than 275 members from The American Legion and Sons of The American Legion joined us in Indianapolis and Atlanta this year, and the Legion plans to participate in an additional location next year as we continue strengthening this collaborative training experience.

The month concluded with many of us traveling to Washington, D.C., for the 67th Annual Washington Conference. It was encouraging to see such a strong presence from Auxiliary members as part of the Legion Family’s engagement with congressional leaders and national policymakers. More on that next month.

February was another productive month across the organization as staff continued advancing program partnerships, supporting membership engagement, and preparing for upcoming leadership gatherings. We also had opportunities to strengthen collaboration with partners who share our commitment to serving veterans and military families. From participation in the Honor Flight Summit to joint conversations with The American Legion’s Americanism Division, these engagements help ensure our work remains aligned with the Legion Family’s shared mission.

As the mid-year NEC meeting approached, staff also focused on preparing financial materials, operational updates, and program reports to support productive discussion with the committee.

And finally, if the NEC meeting reminded us of anything, it’s that we need stronger internet service at National Headquarters. Thank you for your patience — and for rolling with the punches — as I relocated across the office during the meeting. It wouldn’t be as interesting if there wasn’t just a little bit of chaos sprinkled in.

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

Highlights

• Mission Training reaches record success: The 2025–2026 Mission Training cycle concluded with the highest attendance in program history and continued growth in Junior participation, along with increased collaboration with The American Legion and Sons of The American Legion.

• Strong scholarship engagement: More than 620 applications were received across four national scholarship programs ahead of the March 1 deadline, reflecting strong awareness and participation in ALA education initiatives.

• Membership milestones: Two units were chartered or rechartered in February, bringing the total to 36 year-to-date, and 777 units achieved the 100% Unit Award milestone.

• Communications reach continues to grow: February ALA eNews achieved a 43.8% open rate with more than 138,000 opens, while the Auxiliary reported 8.5 million social media impressions in its 2025 year-in-review metrics.

• Development and partnerships expand member value: The Celebrating Women of Service campaign launched Feb. 24, and a new national member benefit partnership with 3 Raw Hounds was secured to enhance engagement opportunities for members.

Programs

Honor Flight Partnership

ALA staff and 2025–2026 National Poppy Chair Karen Toll represented the Auxiliary at the Honor Flight Summit held Feb. 27–28 in Crystal City, Va., which brought together more than 400 leaders from across the Honor Flight Network.

During the summit, staff reinforced the Auxiliary’s partnership with Honor Flight and provided guidance on the appropriate use of Poppy Funds by units and departments to support Honor Flight activities, as outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement between the two organizations. These conversations help ensure that ALA members can support Honor Flight initiatives in their communities while maintaining alignment with the intent of the Poppy program.

Legion Family Program Collaboration

The American Legion’s Americanism Division visited National Headquarters for a collaborative meeting with ALA program staff focused on strengthening coordination between the two organizations. Discussions centered on opportunities to better align communications, share resources, and coordinate initiatives that support members and communities across the Legion Family.

Scholarships

Applications received:

• Children of Warriors: 901• Non-Traditional: 60• Spirit of Youth: 73• Member Loyalty: 52

Program Activity

• 30 Good Deed Awards and 8 Youth Hero Awards distributed• 176 Junior Patch Program patches awarded• 26 Spirit of Youth patches awarded• 10 VAVS certification forms processed• 30 hour bars awarded representing 24,600 lifetime hours of service

Committee meetings (Q2):• 16 meetings held• 838 registered• 685 attended

Membership

A total of 777 units achieved the 100% Unit Award milestone. Recognition gifts for those units have been ordered and are currently being prepared for distribution through departments.

Staff also completed the annual membership rollover process, which moves members not renewed since 2024 to expired status and members not renewed since 2023 to former status.

Membership rollover totals:

• 51,888 members moved to expired status• 49,532 expired members moved to former status

Charter cancellations approved during the NEC meeting resulted in 32 charter cancellations, leaving 7,254 total units.

Additional Metrics

• Phone renewals: 1,311 processed• Unit growth: 2 units chartered or rechartered in February (36 YTD)• Paid Up For Life: 25 applications processed• ALAMIS: 330 users set up; 2 Department Full User trainings conducted

Events & Education

ALA Academy LIVE Webinars

Upcoming sessions include:

• AEF Disaster Preparedness: Resources & Readiness – March 10• Supporting Military Families in Your Communities – March 16• Kids Are Deployed Heroes Too (KDH2) – March 31

February webinar recordings are now available in the ALA Academy.

Department Leadership National Conference

Authorizations and conference information were distributed March 5 to incoming 2026–2027 Department Presidents and current Department Secretaries. Incoming Membership Chairs are also invited to attend.

Communications & Marketing

February was a busy month for the communications team as work continued on video production, content development, and magazine preparation. The May issue of Auxiliary magazine is currently in final preparation and will go to press in mid-March.

Website

• Total users: 66,882• Highest daily users: 3,824 (Feb. 11)

Top downloads:

• Americanism Essay Contest cover sheet – 628• Membership application – 575• Poppy Poster Contest rules – 249• Paid Up For Life application – 215• Constitution & Bylaws – 215

Top viewed pages:

• Member portal – 42,000• Public homepage – 28,000• Children of Warriors Scholarship – 13,000• Scholarships – 11,000• ALA Girls State – 4,800

ALA Blog

• 9,319 views from 7,111 users

Top articles included Honor Flight participation opportunities, membership renewal reminders, and member stories supporting the Be the One initiative.

ALA eNews

• Emails sent: 320,796• Delivered: 315,480• Opens: 138,088 (43.8% open rate)• Clicks: 2,282

Total subscribers as of March 2: 318,219.

Social Media

The recently released 2025 year-in-review report showed 8.5 million social media impressions across ALA platforms.

ALANHQ Facebook insights:

• Views: 399,100 (up 121%)• Engagement: 19,755 (up 172%)• Net follows: +80

Top-performing content included scholarship deadline reminders, Honor Flight stories, and blog content supporting the Be the One initiative.

Development

Staff finalized materials and messaging for the Celebrating Women of Service campaign, which launched Feb. 24.

A new national member benefit partnership was secured with 3 Raw Hounds, expanding the Auxiliary’s member benefit offerings and providing additional engagement opportunities for members nationwide.

ALA Foundation Grants

• Veteran Projects Fund: $1,200 grant awarded to the Department of Texas for the “Home of the Sheroes” project.• Veterans Creative Arts Festival: $2,500 grant awarded to Unit 27 in Ocala, Fla.

Human Resources

Human Resources staff are currently reviewing benefit trends and evaluating healthcare plan options for employees.

Additional work this month included completing the Prescription Drug Data Collection request for UnitedHealthcare and continuing recruitment and interviews for open staff positions.

Finance

Our external auditing firm, Blue & Co., has completed audit fieldwork for both the ALA and ALA Foundation. Draft financial statements are currently in progress.

Work also continues on developing 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 were prepared for the mid-year NEC meeting.

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

Closing Note

February’s progress reflects the continued dedication of our staff and volunteers as they support members, strengthen partnerships, and advance the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary. From record participation in Mission Training to growing engagement across communications and programs, the organization continues building momentum as we move through the new year.

Thank you for your continued leadership and partnership. The work highlighted in this report represents the collective efforts of our volunteers, departments, and National Headquarters staff working together to serve veterans, military families, and communities across the country.

Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions, comments, or feedback.

Ben HendricksExecutive DirectorAmerican Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters

Phone: 317-569-4524  | Fax: 317-569 4502 |   www.ALAforVeterans.org 

A Community of Volunteers Serving Veterans, Military, and their Families.

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