Member Orientation

Member orientation can mean several things. It could start when a new or potentially new member walks through the door of your post and is met with a smile and a hand of friendship from every member.

The Member Orientation topics on this page give a more complete process of orienting new members to your post. It includes a traditional training experience and other tools that can help improve Member Orientation.

A good process of Member Orientation can help improve member engagement and member retention. Often Legionnaires want to become stronger leaders and only need the opportunity to receive proper training. A quality Member Orientation is just the beginning.

Member Orientation Tools

New Member Page
If your post has a website, consider making a New Member page. This is simply a page that brings together information and resources new members will find helpful. The Department of California New Member page is a good example for your post to follow. This is just another tool to help orient your new members to your post. New Members Page

Member Handbook
A Member Handbook is a great resource for all the members of your post, especially those new to our American Legion Family. If your post does not have a Member Handbook, there is a sample handbook you can download. It is an MS Word document, that can easily be edited to meet the needs of your post. The main topics in the glossary include Our Post, Our Post Family, Training, Post Governance, and the Preamble to our constitution. Sample Member Handbook

New Member Welcome Packet
The New Member Welcome Packet is given to new members attending Member Orientation. The contents of the packet can be in an envelope or small bag, it is the contents that are important.

Suggested Packet Contents

Commander’s welcome letter – with links to: your post website, Facebook page, etc.
Member Handbook (If you have one.)
Current Leadership Roster
Post Activity Calendar
Post Floor Plan
A ticket for a free drink or dinner

Engage Members with a Survey
Survey Says Members feel more at home when they can make a personal connection with other members, although making a personal connection with others can happen in the normal course of events, a survey can make it happen faster. There are many online services where you can create an online member surveys.

Here are some sample questions you might want to consider asking in your member survey,

What is your career?
- If retired, what did you do before retirement?
What is your passion or hobby?
What did you do in the service?
Would you be interested in family oriented events?
Our Post needs a lot of good people to help serve our veterans, their families, and our community. Please check the item(s) where you would like to help.
- Communications – Community Public Relations, Newsletters, and emails.
- Veterans Service – help our post service officer ensures that veterans receive benefits they have earned, VA Volunteer, etc.
- Membership Committee – help with membership growth and renewals, Buddy Checks Program, etc.
- Post Finance – Finance Committee, Fundraising for post operations and programs.
- Post Operations – Bartending, Rental Manager, Post Maintenance, Cooking Crews, etc.
- Administration – Assisting Post Adjutant with administration and Reporting Requirements.
- Americanism – Boys & Girls State Programs, Veterans in Schools, Memorial Day, Flag Education, etc.
- National Security – Blood Drive Program, POW/MIA, etc.
- Taking Pictures – We need members to take snapshots of post activities.
- On occasion I would be willing to help with special events.
- For now, I just want to attend post meetings and activities.
- My spouse would be interested in the American Legion Auxiliary
- Son or grandson would be interested in the SONS of the American Legion.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our post leader?

Officers Guide

Initiation of New Members

In the 2022 Officer Guide you will find on page 44, the Initiation of New Members ceremony. This ceremony that has a very long history in The American Legion. Some younger veterans are not that keen on attending meetings, for those who do, a New Member Initiation Ceremony can be a powerful membership tool.

The powerful impact of the New Member Initiation Ceremony comes from this passage:

Post commander: “. . . You have received instruction in The American Legion’s four basic attributes – justice, freedom, democracy and loyalty – and its great principles of service. Are you now ready and willing to obligate yourself as expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution of The American Legion? If so, you will each answer, ‘I am.’”

Candidates: “I am.”

All new members must answer, signifying they are willing to take the obligation.

By answering “I am”, the new member is making a very personal commitment in public, to themselves and their fellow veterans. This public affirmation has power.

Orientation Sample Agenda

Each local American Legion Post will want to develop their own orientation training agenda based on the needs of their post. Member Orientation is a time for a post to put their best foot forward for their new members. How often a post conducts a Member Orientation depends on how many new members are joining their post. As membership in a post grows, the need to conduct Member Orientation will also grow.

Here are some topics you may want to include for your Membership Orientation agenda:

Sample Agenda

Pledge of Allegiance & Preamble
Welcome – Commander
Introductions – Staff Officers Present & Participants – make the introductions simple: i.e. Name, Branch of Service & Hometown, You might be surprised at how quickly the introductions go and how much the hometown information brings people together.
Review Key Post Leaders and their duties
Give a short Post History
Post Committees and their importance
Post Programs
The Four Pillars of The American Legion:
The American Legion’s four pillars – Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism, and Children and Youth – are as relevant today as when our organization was founded in 1919.
Welcome new members into the Legion by assigning them a mentor who is familiar with our traditions,
customs, policies and programs.
Finally, encourage members old and new to complete the BASIC TRAINING course, which is the best and most convenient way to gain basic knowledge of who we are and what we do.

Videos Enhance Training

There are many good videos produced by The American Legion national office that can enhance your Member Orientation. They can be accessed online on the Vimeo or YouTube websites. Here are a few that you might want to consider. Here is the Welcome to The American Legion video, it is less than a minute long.

Welcome to The American Legion from The American Legion on Vimeo.