Happy New Year, Navy Leaguers! The beginning of the year is a time for installing a new slate of officers and Board members. Many councils also use this time for planning the upcoming year and completing training for your new council team.
If you have questions or comments about the information below, please contact the Member Service Center at service@navyleague.org or 800.356.5760. Thanks! Bill Waylett
Featured Sections:
I. Spring Board of Directors Meeting Announced
II. Best Practice – Council Annual Planning and Training
III. Best Practices – 2004 “Oldies but Goodies”
IV. Public Relations
V. Membership
VI. Legislative Affairs
VII. Announcements
I. Spring Board of Directors Meeting Announced
National President Mike McGrath has announced that there will be a second Board of Directors’ meeting this year that has been scheduled for May 22-24 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. As you know, the Directors voted during the 2007 National Convention to return to two Board of Directors’ meetings annually as soon as possible. All Directors are reminded that they must not miss two consecutive meetings to be eligible for reelection. Make plans now to attend this meeting. Detailed information, as well as the necessary registration and hotel reservation forms, are available online and also will be published in the March issue of Seapower magazine.
II. Best Practice – Council Annual Planning and Training
January for most councils is when the newly elected officers and Board members are installed and begin planning council activities for the upcoming year. Creating an Annual Plan provide council members with a look ahead of activities and provides stability for planning their participation. Many council Boards use an “offsite Board retreat” to complete the planning process. Your council can request services from Regional Activities to complete this planning process. Services include training and consulting in planning and activities. If your council would like to use these services, please contact Bill Waylett. Workshop materials are posted on the NLUS website.
III. Best Practices – 2004 “Oldies but Goodies”
We continue our presentation of Best Practices from the Council Alert eNewsletter, focusing this edition on 2004. The 2004 Best Practices are now posted on the Navy League website under Council Resources. Here’s the index of our 2004 best practices:
1/29/04 Developing Leads for Community Affiliate Membership, Lake
Washington Council
3/11/04 Keeping Track of Your Members, Camden-Kings Bay Council
3/25/04 Putting for Dollars, Puerto Vallarta (MX) Council
4/14/04 Museum Ship Display, Mobile Council
4/26/04 Outstanding Council, A Study of Seattle Council
5/21/04 Young Navy Leaguers
6/03/04 New Member Orientation, Broward County Council
7/01/04 Area Training Meetings
7/15/04 Restarting A Council
7/29/04 Deployment Dollars, Richmond Council
8/16/04 Candidate Forums, Jacksonville Council
Identifying Small Businesses in Your Community, Wilmington (DE) Council
8/26/04 Identifying Small Businesses in Your Community – Addendum,
Lake Washington Council
11/9/04 Year-End Council Training
IV. Public Relations
Navy League-sponsored season’s greetings to Sailors and Marines
This holiday season, we sponsored televised holiday greetings from our sea services members from the Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland area who are stationed abroad. Our 30-second holiday greetings aired locally on ABC Channel 7, http://www.wjla.com and News Channel 8, http://www.news8.net/ from December 29th to January 7th. The spots can now be found online at ABC Channel 7, http://www.wjla.com by putting the word "greeting" in the search form. This was a great opportunity to show our support of our service members and their families as well as a great way get give the “Navy League” some visibility. Councils are encouraged to start planning now to do something similar in their local communities for holiday season 2008. Although TV airtime is rather expensive, this is a great opportunity to get your Community Affiliate involved in helping to underwrite the cost of the local television spots. Contact Tiffany Anzalone, PR Director, at 703-312-1557 for assistance on this effort.
Council Care Packages sent to all Steering Committee Members, Region, Area and Council Presidents
By now, all Steering Committee Members, Region, Area and Council Presidents should have received the November 2007 Council Care Package. The new Navy League information DVD and related Talking Points are included in the care package. A limited number of copies of the DVD are available upon request and downloadable versions are also now available online. The packet also includes Navy Community Outreach (NAVCO) information on requesting speakers and aerial demonstration unit, a 2008 Membership Challenge from the new Sr. Dir. of Membership, Salvador Chairez, information on how to recruit new corporate members, a Navy League Charitable Donation fact sheet, a copy of the Council President’s Turnover guide and a list of council workshops, the deadlines for Seapower magazine and Navy Leaguer submissions and a promotion flyer for the Sea-Air-Space 2008 coming up March 18-20. You may also find the contents of the Council Care Package online.
Here’s a Council Challenge -- Help us share the Navy League history!
The Fort Lauderdale Council recently bought 100 Navy League History books. The council’s initial distribution will be to the 37 public libraries in Broward County. The rest of the books will go to the public school system as well as visiting ships. The Fort Lauderdale Council and your Public Relations Director, Tiffany Anzalone, are challenging you to make the commitment to educating the public about the Navy League by presenting the Navy League History Book to your community and business leaders, community/civic partners, adopted units, as well as youth groups and school and public libraries.
The History Book should be part of the every Council’s presentation/memento cache. The books are available for sale online and are only $14.95 for members and $12.95 when ordering 10 or more.
Help us spread the word about the important mission of the Navy League and our proud, outstanding history!
Navy Leaguers Donate Your Miles!
Are you interested in donating your frequent flier miles to assist families of seriously wounded servicemen and women? The Fisher House Foundation, http://fisherhouse.org/ makes it extremely easy for you to pass along your miles to service members in need. You can donate to the Hero Miles program online or by calling 888.294.8560 and a Fisher House staff member can answer your questions and assist you in making your donation. Thank you for continuing to support the men and women of the sea services.
Call for council stories, photos and video
Please keep sending your stories, videos and photos to publicrelations@navyleague.org. The Communications Department wants to showcase your hard work on the website. Please send Navy League mission-oriented stories, photos and video to Tiffany Anzalone, Dir. of Public Relations at 703-312-1581. Your help is greatly appreciated.
V. Membership
Annual Reports
It’s that time again. Please submit your Annual Report by March 1st. We’ve already received reports from the West New Jersey, Palm Beach, and Long Beach Councils (thank you very much)! The Annual Report form can be downloaded here.
Email Address Campaign
We’re asking every council for their support in a massive effort to update the database. As we move further into the electronic age, we find it critical to have email addresses for our members. As far as member communication goes, this is a cost-effective and time saving measure that council officers can surely appreciate. For your members that have email addresses, please encourage them to send an email to service@navyleague.org, and we’ll update their records. In turn, you’ll be able to query for them through the Online Community.
Promote your Council!
We’re looking for testimonials from members, active duty spouse members, and Community Affiliates (CAs) about why they joined the Navy League, why they support the Navy League, and/or why they continue to be a member of the Navy League. Be sure to include their name, council, and a digital photo. This is a great way to promote your members, Councils, and CAs because we will be using these testimonials in our new printed materials and on the Navy League website. Send your submissions to schairez@navyleague.org.
V. Legislative Affairs
February has traditionally had the education message (theme) of Legislative Affairs. Councils have an important role in the Navy League’s legislative efforts. Keep your members informed about maritime issues. Coordinate contacts with congressional representatives and senators by participation in the Grassroots Legislative Initiative. Make sure your council appoints a Council Vice President for Legislative Affairs, who coordinates activities with the Region Vice President for Legislative Affairs. Plan your activities to celebrate Congressional Maritime Week in May.
VI. Announcements
1. February Seapower Digital Edition is available online.
2. Information on Mandatory Filing of IRS Form 990N
Beginning in 2008, tax-exempt councils, scholarship funds or other charitable entities created by a council that have annual gross receipts of $25,000 or less are required to file an annual notice (Form 990N) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Find out what you need to do to file with the IRS here.
3. SeaPower Almanac
The 2008 Annual Almanac issue of SeaPower is not available in a digital edition. Members should have received their copy by US mail in the past two weeks.
4. Sea-Air-Space Exposition
The Navy League’s annual spring three-day event brings together key military decision makers, the major players in the defense industry and Navy Leaguers for a look at the latest maritime technology. Held March 18-20, 2008 in Washington, DC, members attend FREE. For additional information or to register visit http://www.seaairspace.org.
Member Services
service@navyleague.org
www.navyleague.org