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From ALA Dept of MT President
Jackie asked me to post this for all to see. Please review all of the fliers below.
FROM AMERICAN LEGION DEPARTMENT OF MONTANA
I want to address a response I’m hearing far too often: “We don’t have enough members for that,” or “Our members wouldn’t be interested.”
Have we actually asked them?
Too often, “our members” means the same handful of officers and volunteers who attend meetings and already carry much of the workload. Their time and capacity matter, and I understand that they cannot take on everything. But their availability does not tell us whether the rest of the membership or someone in the community would like to participate.
The upcoming Shuman visit and community chili/pie contests are a good example. Maybe your officers cannot attend. Maybe your regular volunteers cannot participate. That is understandable. What is frustrating is using that as a reason to keep the invitation from everyone else.
We cannot say our members are not interested when we have not given them the opportunity to decide.
Forward the announcement. Share it on your page. Email your membership. For events open to the public, invite your community. Sharing an opportunity does not commit your officers to organizing it, attending it, or doing more work.
Someone who never comes to a meeting might enjoy entering a contest. Someone who has been waiting for a reason to reconnect might show up. A community member might walk through the door for the first time.
We talk about wanting more participation, stronger membership, and new faces. Those things require invitations that reach beyond the people already sitting at the table.
Please stop letting the availability of a few decide the opportunities offered to everyone. Share the invitation.
Let people answer for themselves.
Erin Carpenter
Office Manager
Department of Montana
PO Box 155
Fort Harrison MT 59636
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