HANSON – American Legion Post 226 needs you – especially if you are a veteran who might be interested in joining their ranks.
The post is now conducting a membership drive as its membership is aging and it’s become more difficult to attract younger members.
While there are currently about 250 members on the books, many are elderly and rarely attend events.
“We’re trying to get the younger generation in here,” said David George, Post 226 vice commander and a Select Board member. “I think everybody associates the American Legion with old World War II veterans and Vietnam veterans. We need younger veterans.”
George said a recent meat raffle fundraiser, in which a small crowd raised about $1,5000 provided a reason for optimism amid a troubling trend of dwindling membership.
Another meat raffle is planned for Veterans Day – starting at 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11 – with an additional raffle of a 40-inch Amazon Fire TV, 50/50 scratch ticket raffle, other door prizes, food, and Veterans Agent Joe Gumbakis to provide information on veterans services, among the highlights.
“There’s a lot of good things that we could do here,” George said, noting that Gumbakis could hold informational sessions, or hours in which to answer veterans’ questions.
Recent news reports from around the country show the post is not alone, as younger veterans seem to be looking elsewhere for the post-service comradeship the Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) posts used to attract.
“The young guys don’t want to come in here because they think its all old grumpy people sitting at the bar, drinking, and it’s not that way,” George said.
Younger vets from all over the U.S. are pointing to generational differences over minority memberships, including issues such as race or the attitudes toward LGBTQ veterans in the wake of the 2011 repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as some of the reasons behind falling membership in established veterans’ organizations, accoring to news reports.
For George, none of that is a concern, if veterans are looking for a place to gather, socialize and reminisce about service days, he said the Hanson legion has the welcoming space and events.
“There’s no discrimination here – male/female, black/white – anybody could come here,” said George, an Army and Army National Guard veteran.
Post bar manager Richard Wassell sees a national trend in dwindling participation in groups of all kinds at work.
“A lot of people lose interest,” he said, adding it’s a great place for veterans and a great place for the public.“A lot of people don’t want to go out much anymore. Who knows? It’s not an exclusive veterans’ club,”
There are ways to join the Legion even if one is not a veteran, as well.
“We have three memberships here,” George said. “Veterans – and you could be male or female. This isn’t like a fraternity.” Sons of veterans is a male auxiliary and the Women’s Auxiliary round out the membership categories.
While there are challenges in attracting members, it’s not your dad’s Legion Hall, anymore, he said.
But the national Legon, in its membership tab on the website legion.org, sees enough cause for concern to post in June 2023, to post an article about how posts might attract younger members. The Legion had hosted a story about a training session on boosting membership based on getting posts involved in the community and, as a result, attracting community involvement with posts.
For example, Post 257 in Battle Creek, Mich., had 55 members in 2017. Since then, the post has grown each year thanks to its community outreach and engagement efforts. For 2023, Post 257 has about 268 members.
“You have to go out into the community and let them know what you’re doing or else you’re not going to attract new members,” The Legion’s Department of Michigan Membership Director Brian Mohlman said. “If you don’t go out in the community, your community doesn’t see you.”
George is looking for that kind of spike in interest.
One of its steps will be a Veterans Day meat raffle at 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 11.
Recreational outlets could also be expanded at the post, George said.
A pool league could be convinced to include the post if there was enough interest and the Minuteman Dart League, which Post 226 had been part of once, could return. Recreational league participation do not require Legion membership.
With the burgeoning popularity of cornhole, George said forming a team for that could also be popular.
“We have so much stuff to offer,” he said, noting the hall at 92 Robinson St., in Hanson has a full kitchen including two pizza ovens, a second bar downstairs in the function room, and an outdoor pavilion. “It’s a place for people to meet and have a good time. It’s all good people here.”
Members may rent the hall for $25 to $50 right now, and non-members can rent spaces for from $100 to $200 – and that can include bartender service.
New members can also help, through dues, with the materials needed to repair the roof – estimated at a cost of about $10,000.
“If we had the materials, we have the manpower that would put it on,” George said. “We have carpenters that are members here. There’s a lot of good people here, and there’s a lot of good things that can happen here,” George said. “We need more members to make it happen.”
For more information about joining the American Legion or its auxiliaries, email davidgrorge02341@gmail.com.