Sons of The American Legion, Detachment Of Virginia

10/29/2026

Team South

We have membership reports for both 2026 and 2027.

2026

For 2026, we picked up 141 memberships over the previous report and have a membership rate of 99.2% with a renewal rate of 88.28%. For our region, we picked up 18 memberships. We remain in first place nationally for 2026. 3 Detachments are less than 100 members from making their 100% membership. The 3 Detachments are Louisiana (8), Texas (26), and Virginia (37). Mississippi made the biggest improvement in renewals over the previous report by .23%, followed by Louisiana and Virginia. Please continue to work on those who need to renew for 2026. We are leaving too many members that have not renewed for 2026. Be creative and see if you can do a 2 for 1. If they don’t want to renew, please find out why.

2027

For 2027, we picked up 2,996 memberships nationally and have a membership rate of 28.6% and a renewal rate of 25.5%. Six Detachments have now met or exceeded the 45% target. The Detachment of Utah is the latest Detachment to reach the 45% target rate.

Our region picked up 379 memberships over the previous report. We currently have 21,398 members in our region with a membership rate of 37.61% and a renewal rate of 33.17%. We are 4,204 members short of reaching the 45% target for the region. 3 Detachments are less than 100 members each from making their 45% target. Those 3 Detachments are Puerto Rico (6), South Carolina (35),and Mississippi (68). Louisiana remains in first place in our region. We continue to be in first place nationally. Let’s keep up the good work by working our renewals by connecting and engaging our existing membership.

Remember our next target date is 45% on November 12.

We continue to make progress with our renewals. Georgia had the biggest increase in renewals over the previous report with 1.98%, followed by Arkansas at 1.44% followed by Texas at .98%. Let’s Recruit One Member, Renew One Member, and Engage One Member. Member engagement is vital to the success of our organization. Our members make our programs successful.

We talked a lot about going outside of our Post and Squadrons at our Fall NEC. All of our communities are actively engaged in Fall Sports at our local schools. Most if not all schools are looking for volunteers to help out at the food booths at sporting events. Why don’t we look into trying to help out at these events to give the parents a break and give them a chance to see their son or daughter play in a game. Let’s check into seeing if we can’t set up a table at some of these events to promote our organization and show how we can help and be a beacon in our communities.





Thanks for all you do to support the Membership and Programs of the Sons of The American Legion.

Let’s Be The One to ‘Be The Change’ in the lives of our Veterans, Children, and Communities.

Scott Williams
Southeastern Region Membership Chairman
[email protected]
571 888 2720

10/26/2026

Team South-

Happy Sunday!

Nationally, we picked up 4,149 members over the previous report and currently have a 27.87% membership rate and a renewal rate of 24.84%. We still have 5 Detachments at 45% or higher and several that are closing in on the 45% Target. Louisiana and Georgia are leading the way for our region in the top 5 in the nation.

Our region picked up 599 over the previous report. We currently stand at 21,019 members with a 36.94% membership rate and a renewal rate of 32.55%. Louisiana continues to maintain its lead in our region followed by Georgia and South Carolina. We need 4,584 members to make the 45% Target by November 12. We have 3 Detachments that are less than 100 members each from making the 45% Target. The 3 Detachments are Puerto Rico (6), South Carolina (43), and Mississippi (71).

We continue making progress with renewing our members in our region. Louisiana was the big gainer over the previous report by picking up 1.79% over the previous report, followed by South Carolina at 1.25% and Florida at 1.13%. Please continue working with those members whose membership will expire on December 31.

Our mission, as an organization, is to support the American Legion and its programs through our support of Veterans, Children, and Communities. This means that our membership is more than the membership card we carry. Our membership is the very support of the American Legion and its programs. As leaders in our organization, to carry out the mission, we need to focus on getting our existing members renewed. Yes, we know the renewal notices were late this year. But, we cannot let that stop us. We need to step into that void where those notices would have been and contact our members – through phone, text, or email. Ask them why they joined, share your why. Ask them to renew and remind them it honors the veteran that made them eligible to join the Sons of The American Legion. Tell them that their renewal will continue our support of the American Legion and its programs. Veterans Day is a few weeks away, ask them to renew to honor their veteran. It is the right thing to do. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up real soon. We would like to get as many renewals processed before the holidays. If you need anything from me, please let me know.

Let’s remember that the veteran is the common bond that makes our membership in the Sons of The American Legion a brotherhood.





Let’s Be The One to “Be The Change” in the lives of our Veterans, Children, and Communities.

Scott Williams
Southeastern Region Membership Chairman
[email protected]
571 888-2720

10/22/2026

Team South-

We have both a 2026 and a 2027 Membership Report for October 19.

2026

For the 2026 year we picked up 311 memberships and are currently at 99.16% membership with a renewal rate of 88.26% nationally. Our region picked up 44 members with a membership rate of 101.36% and a renewal rate of 84.89%. Texas picked up the largest number of 2026 renewals over the previous report at 19, followed by Florida at 16, and Alabama at 3. Texas also showed the largest increase in renewal rate over the previous report at .27%. Please continue to follow up with those members who did not renew for 2026. We still have a lot of those left that need to renew for 2026.

2027

For the 2027 Membership Year, we picked up 5,659 memberships over the previous report and are at 26.86% nationally with a renewal rate of 23.94%. 5 Detachments have met or exceeded the 45% target already. 2 of those are from the Southeastern Region – Louisiana and Georgia. Congratulations to all of those who met or exceeded the 45% Target already.

As I mentioned in my last report, we did cross the 35% Target point for this year, on this report. 8 of our Detachments met or exceeded the 35% target on this report – congratulations to Louisiana(1st Place in the Southeastern Region), Georgia, South Carolina (on the move for first place for 2 years in a row), Puerto Rico, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Texas and Florida seem to be the next 2 that will reach the 35% target the soonest. Congratulations and thanks to all of you for your efforts in recruiting and renewing to reach the 35% target for our region. Let’s keep up the good work so we can reach our 45% Target on November 12.

For renewals, Arkansas made the largest gain in this area over the previous report at 6.07%, followed by South Carolina at 3.08%, and Virginia at 2.3%. Let’s keep working the renewals as we have until December 31 to get as many renewals processed as possible.

We knew going into this year that the aggressive changes in the Targets would be a challenge. This was done so that we could focus on sustained growth through renewals. We introduced and communicated a July In December Out program earlier this year. We know that this will take time to adjust our focus from recruiting to renewing. We do the recruiting part very well. We face challenges in keeping our members renewed.

The October 19 membership report shows that we are about 4,000 plus members short of where we were at this same time last year. The National Membership Team is looking into this further. One thing that has come about is that the Renewal Notices that were supposed to be sent out late September/early October have not been sent out. We understand that those are supposed to be sent out this week. In the meantime, we are asking that all our Detachments not wait for those to arrive at our members mail boxes. We are asking all our Detachment leadership contact their Districts and Squadrons and ask them to follow up with those members who have not renewed – either by phone, email, or text – and ask them to renew as soon as possible. Our members who have not renewed also have the option to renew online at https://mylegion.org/PersonifyEbusiness/Membership/SAL-Renew. Please ask them to renew as soon as possible. If you are processing the renewal at your Squadron, please make sure you are validating the member’s contact information – mailing address, phone number, and email address.

I sent out the IRA Form for 2026-27 under a separate email. We have not received the pins yet. As I understand it, National is ordering those this week. We also have not received the letters that accompany the pins either. We are working on these and will get all of this taken care of so that we can recognize all our amazing recruiters. We thank you for what you are doing to recruit new members.

Please share the Don’t Wait Renew Today Flyer with all your Districts, Squadrons and Contacts. It is attached to this email.

Please don’t forget that our next target date is November 12 with a Membership rate of 45%.

Thanks for all you do to support the membership and programs of the Sons of The American Legion.

Let’s Be The One to “Be The Change” in the lives of our Veterans, Children, and Communities.





Scott Williams
Southeastern Region Membership Chairman
Virginia

10/20/2026

Here is why you should join the Sons of The American Legion.

10/17/2026

10/16/2026

Team South-

We reached the 35% Target for our current Membership Year. Nationally, we are at 104,627 members with a 25.48% membership rate and a renewal rate of 22.68%. Congratulations to the 19 Detachments that met or exceeded the 35% Target rate! Of those 19, 8 were from our region. Those 8 from our region are Louisiana, Georgia, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Thanks for all of your efforts to support our membership initiatives and to our programs. Keep up the great work.

For the Southeastern Region, we came very close to making the 35% Target as a region. We fell 260 members short of our 35% goal. I know we will get it on the next report. Our October goal as always been 25%. We set the October goal for October higher as we have our other targets this year. We did this to focus on sustained growth and a focus on retention for this year and in future years. We are grateful for all the Detachments that met or exceeded the 35% target by getting new members and renewing existing members. Let’s remember that membership is not just a membership card or a number on a report. Every Member Matters. So as we look to the next Target of 45% on November 12, let’s continue to make those phone calls, send those emails out and remind our existing members of what we do, the impact we make at our post, with our veterans, our children, and in our communities. Check and see how your members are doing. Ask them why they joined. Tell them why you joined. November is where we honor our veterans-on-Veterans Day. There is no better way to honor our veterans, than to renew our membership in the Sons of The American Legion. So, if you have members who have not renewed yet, ask them to renew now or in November to honor the veteran who made them eligible to join the Sons of The American Legion.

For renewals on this report, we picked up 1% over the last report. Texas was the big winner in the renewals race on this report by picking up 2.49% in renewals, over the previous report, followed by Alabama at 1.42% and Tennessee at 1.25%. Thanks to all of our Detachments that continue to make the contacts and re-connect with our existing members. Please remember that our ultimate goal is to get as many renewals as possible before December 31, 2026. There is still a lot of work to be don’t to get those renewals in. As you process your renewals at your Squadrons, please remember to update contact information including phone numbers and email addresses for your members. It is also important as you sign up new members to get accurate phone numbers and email addresses. Please remember the importance of reconnecting with our existing members and engaging them in Squadron Activities. Please do everything you can to engage your Squadron members in your activities and Post activities and what you do to support your local communities.

As we move into the weekend, let’s continue to keep our Florida American Legion family in our thoughts and prayers as they recover from the recent Hurricane on the Gulf Coast.

Thanks for all you do to support the membership and programs of the Sons of The American Legion.

Let’s Be The One to ‘Be The Change’ in the lives of our Veterans, Children, and Communities.

Every Member Matters.

Membership Through Mentorship.

Scott Williams
Southeastern Region Membership Chairman
[email protected]
571 888 2720
Virginia

10/13/2026

10/12/2026

Inspiring young minds with flag etiquette lessons! 🇺🇸

Email from The American Legion Department of Virginia Welcome to the new membership year   Membership Report October 8, 2026       Post’s Legion Family continues longtime tradition of bringing flag l