Notes from the Adjutant’s office.
We look forward to seeing you at the Post 3 meeting, July 12th, 2022. A BIG THANK YOU to those who have renewed for 2022. We really need your help; renewals were again very slow during this spring. We had hoped to have met our goal of 92% for 2022 but have fallen well short of this goal. If you have sent in your 2022 dues payment and have not received your 2022 card, please call, and let us know. This is the only way we know that you have not received your 2022 card. Mail does get damaged, or misdirected, so please let us know if you do not receive a 2022 membership card. We have been busy in the office, working to transfer members to Post 3 that are in Nebraska’s holding Post 500. And trying to contact those Post 3 members who have not yet paid their 2021-2022 dues. Thanks again for renewing with POST 3 and THE American Legion. It is the eleven dollars of Post 3 dues that allows us to serve our fellow veterans at the local level. The remaining Thirty-Five Dollars goes to cover Department and National dues, which support Legion activities on the State and National level. The National Headquarters will be mailing out renewal notices at the end of June. Be on the lookout for them. They should be in your mailbox the first week of July. I did a little review of the numbers for 2021-2022, to see how this has affected our lower renewal rate for 2022.
The American Legion has broken memberships into five groups.
Here are the numbers as of June 27, 2022:
Regular pay, yearly: 957
PUFL: 115
Nebraska Life: 60
Transfers In: 38
Deceased: 120
It is this last number that really affects our percentage renewal rate. If a member died after paying his/her dues for the current year he/she is included on the roster for the following year, thus raising the goal for the year. The goal is normally based on the ending membership for July31st of the current year, then adding one or more memberships to show a net gain over the past year. With Post 3 losing about 100 members a year, we are starting the new membership year in the hole. To have net gain for this new membership year, Post 3 will need to recruit over 150 new or renew expired members. This number is greater than the 120 who are listed as deceased, as we have about 100 who have not renewed for 2022, or who have died, and we have been informed of their death. This past weekend, at the 104th, State Convention, it was sad to watch other Posts get awards for their memberships, while Post 3 received nothing. Post 3 is the largest Post in the state; thus, it takes a greater effort for us to maintain our current numbers, let alone grow our numbers. If we are going to grow, we all need to recruit one new or former member. If we each were to do so, we could double our membership. This would fall far short of reaching our all-time high of over 9,000 members, but would be a start to growing our numbers again. Again, thanks for your Service, and Thanks for being a member of Post 3. Remember to take time this July Fourth to honor our fellow Veterans who have died in service to this Great Country
Ed Schnabel Adjutant
As I wrote last month, the Lincoln CBOC is now doing walk-in EXPRESS CARE starting at 3pm and going until 7pm. No appointment is needed. If you need a nurse to look at something, make use of this new service. A copy of the flyer follows: The VA is doing away with the current sign in system. Starting July 13th, the Lincoln clinic will be going to a system where you will use a smart phone to sign in for appointments. For those without a smart phone, the staff will have to sign you in. The system is called “VA Mobile Check-in for Appointments”. Clinics using the new system will have a QR code for you to scan in the check-in area. You need to be sure that the VA has your smart phone number. When you scan the QR code, the system will call your phone number to check you in for your appointment. The Lab will revert to a paper and pen sign-in. The Flag Hands outside the entrance are going to be repaired. The artist who designed the hands and flag is going to take the Flag and redo it as it has been showing its age. The Flag will be gone for a few months, but it will return. Unwanted Medications: If you have old medications that you would like to dispose of you can drop them off in the Pharmacy waiting area. There is a locked blue drop box where you can deposit them. Keep them out of your homes and out of our kid’s hands. If you do not have a current VA ID card, you can request one while you are in the clinic. You will need to have some form of ID that will allow them to double-check your identity. You can use a state issued driver’s license and/or state issued ID card. The process is done by video computer link. You can also get help to enroll in the VA system by using this link: www.myhealth.va.gov. My Healthy Vet: Did you know you can request refills of your medications, check your upcoming appointments, or send a note to your provider online? The VA has a web site called, My Healthy Vet that allows you to do this. If you are not currently using it, or If you need help in using it, stop by their education center on your next visit. In Lincoln, their info center is just to the right of the front entrance. The Lincoln education center is staffed on Tuesday – Friday, 0800-1400 hours. To get the full use of the web site, you need to have a Premium My HealthyVet Account. To upgrade your account, you need to be authenticated. This only takes a minute, just stop and visit with the staff. Coffeehaus is the third Friday of the month. During the summer months it will be held at the band shell in Antelope Park, 10:00 to Noon. Come and enjoy some good free music. Buddy Check is on the 22nd of the month: 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Foundry, 14th and P, downtown. Come and meet with your fellow veterans for free food and a drink. You can park in the garage just around the corner for free as we will give you a ticket to use to get out. Remember, the VA will only be there for us if we use its services. If we do not use them, the government sees it as a service not needed and will cut funding for the Lincoln CBOC. The government funds each CBOC / hospital based on the number of veterans signed up for services in its service area. The veterans do not need to be using the VA for their medical needs. They just need to be enrolled in the VA Health Care System. Funding is based on foreseen needs, not current need. We need to talk with our fellow veterans to be sure they are enrolled in the VA system. There are many veterans who could receive medical service but have never signed up for this benefit of our service. Again, it is the old story, use them or lose them. You may not know that the Lincoln CBOC receives $4,000.00 dollars for each veteran registered as living in our service area. This area takes in most of southeast Nebraska and a few of the counties in northern Kansas.
Thanks for your service.
Ed Schnabel Lincoln VAG member (Veteran Advisory Group) Lincoln VA American Legion Representative for Nebraska