From: Kansas VFW Hqs To: Undisclosed-Recipient@yahoo Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2013 10:46 AM Subject: Fw: State Commanders Message Comrades … I am profoundly grateful to the VFW members of Kansas for the honor, trust and confidence you have bestowed upon me. Senior Vice Commander Bruce Fischbach, Junior Vice Commander Dallas Love, and I stand ready to serve. We look forward to seeing every leader at Parsons for the School of Instruction on August 2nd. The theme this year is “Of the Troops, For the Troops & Their families,” because we know that our service to our country and to our fellow Americans did not end when we took off the uniform. At the election I passed out my vision for 2013-2014 to guide us Live up to our Motto of “No" One does More for Veterans’ through our posts being the pillar in every community Be Open to new ideas for the new leaders #VFW Legislative Strong makes our voices count Be family Oriented Transition to a year round recruiting & retention culture Team KANSAS not divided by 9 We wake up every morning knowing that we are going to help make a difference in someone else’s life. But no matter how hard we try, we also know that more can be accomplished through participation and teamwork — and that’s why my Number #1 goal for the year is 100 percent membership. Many past commanders have stood before you with similar messages and I will be no different, because the situation continues to get worse with the passing of our World War II, Korean War generations & ever increasing Vietnam War Veterans. Membership is our lifeblood. It provides strength, direction and influence in the halls of Congress … in our state capitol and in our communities. With a strong and active membership, we can accomplish anything. We have a great challenge before us. Our numbers may not be as large as we once were, but through the election of good leadership, we can make this organization just as strong as it has ever been. We need leaders who can bring out the best in our members … leaders who can educate and motivate our membership … and leaders who are not afraid of change. General Colin Powell once said that leadership is about solving problems … that the day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them because they have either lost confidence that you can help or have concluded that you do not care. General Powell said either case is a failure of leadership. What signals are we sending to my generation? We beat down their doors to get them to join … we encourage them to run in Post elections … and then we don’t listen to their ideas? That’s a sure-fire way to lose membership and participation in my book. This new generation brings fresh ideas, enthusiasm and optimism back into our Posts, and we absolutely cannot move forward into the VFW of the 21st century without them What you and many others continue to do on behalf of our great organization is noteworthy because you are making a difference in the lives of others … your efforts are being publicized … and our communities and nation are taking notice. That’s why a strong and active membership is so important ... it helps us to positively impact the lives of others on a grand scale. A strong membership also strengthens our efforts on Capitol Hill and in Topeka, where it’s often said if you want your voice to be heard, you’d better bring a crowd. Our focus is on the proper care of our veterans, service members and their families. We must continue to support our military and their families using whatever means available, like our Operation Uplink, Unmet Needs, and Military Assistance Programs. We must continue to support the needs of the families of our deployed troops … whether it is financial or just moral support. The VFW needs to be there for them when our troops are deployed and visible when they return home. And we must continue to be there for the families of our 88,000 missing and unaccounted-for service members. Comrades … in closing … I challenge you to challenge the way we do business. Ask questions and seek out the history of why we do things the way we do and if needs to be fixed fix it now. Don’t accept well this is the way we have always done it. As members of the greatest veterans’ organization in the world, it is our sacred duty to ensure the continued growth, vitality and relevance of the Veterans of Foreign Wars far into the 21st century. And leave it better for the future members. Yours in Comradeship; Lynn W. Rolf III Kansas VFW State Commander
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:24:13 +0000
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