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December 2011/January 2012 Bring Your Laptop
Redesigned Website To Be Unveiled At Mid-Winter Conference
Merry Making At The Zoo
Each year, the Department Commander hosts his officers and other Department leaders at a gala Christmas party which, this year, was held at the Indianapolis Zoo. The zoo features thousands of lights and displays on the grounds, along with a huge Christmas Tree to greet visitors. Joy Miller, the Department’s First Lady, (above left) received a special gift from the Legion Family, and Santa Claus (The Fifth District’s own Bob Bach) took time out from his busy pre-Christmas schedule to find out just what “Little Mikey” wanted for Christmas.
Mid-Winter Conference To Feature Training For Post Service Officers The Department Service Office will conduct Post Service Officer training during the upcoming Mid-winter Conference. The seminar is designed to help American Legion posts assist their members with veterans benefit issues and improve membership through services. Pre-registration is not required. All post service officers are encouraged to attend. The seminar is scheduled for Saturday, January 14, 2012, 8:00 to 12:00 noon at the Indianapolis Marriott East Hotel, 7202 East 21st Street in Indianapolis. The seminar will be conducted by Department Service Officer and Director of Rehabilitation John Hickey, along with members of his staff. The seminar will cover such diverse topics as post service officers’ duties and
responsibilities, ethics, the rehab program, Temporary Financial Assistance, homeless veterans program, claims representation, veterans service and membership, avoiding common mistakes, newly discharged veterans consultation checklist; Also, replacing the DD Form 214, disability compensation, non-service connected pension, survivors compensation and pension, burial benefits, the appeals process, military correction and review board issues, concurrent receipt and combat related special pay, VA medical benefits, and informal and fully developed claims. The Department Service Officers also have announced plans to conduct an open panel discussion to help answer any and all other veterans’ benefits and
service issues of concern to the audience. In addition to the information to be provided, service officers in attendance will also receive a computer disc containing The American Legion Department of Indiana Post Service Officers Training Manual, Training Certification Test, claims research information, forms link for federal and state benefits, and a Veterans Benefit Power Point presentation for post presentations. The training session is free, but attendees will likely incur costs associated with travel and lodging. Active post service officers volunteer much of their time while assisting post members. Post may now help their service officers by sponsoring their attendance at this training session, then reap the benefit of their service officer’s increased knowledge.
Unserviceable Flags Add To Vet Honors An American Legion benefits partner has come up with a unique way to dispose of unserviceable American flags and honor deceased veterans at the same time. For more than a year, Indiana Funeral Care has accepted tattered, torn and damaged American flags to place with U.S. Military veterans when they are cremated. The practice is done in a tribute to the veteran and to show respect to the Stars and Stripes. Central Indiana American Legion Posts bring in hundreds of flags at a time, which funeral home owner David Ring said will sustain the program that was started to honor the “several hundred” veterans cremated annually. According to the United States Code, Title 4 Chapter 1, Section 8, the flag, when it is
in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning, he said. When the flag is tattered, torn, stained or fading, the flag should be destroyed. Often, residents who want to honor the law, take the fading flags to veterans associations. “They may have a ceremony to burn them, but many Legion members and veterans believe this is a very respectful way to give a veteran a final resting place with an American flag,” Ring said. Destroying the flag by burning assures that it will not be left in a garbage can. “It’s our hope that every veteran gets to be cremated with an American flag,” Ring said.
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Major renovations to the Department of Indiana’s website will be unveiled at a hands-on seminar scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, January 14 during the 2012 Mid-Winter Conference. During the seminar, Jay van Santen, the web designer selected by the Department to revamp the site, will present an overview, then assist interested Legion family members in experiencing the new site first hand. Van Santen also will solicit reaction and feedback from those experiencing the site. Legion family members are encouraged to bring their wi-fi equipped laptop computers with them. Free wi-fi access will be available to all participants in the seminar room. In addition, the Department will set up eight to ten workstations wired into the internet for users who do not have wi-fi-equipped laptops. Van Santen will repeat the 30-minute overview at 1:00 p.m. for participants who could not attend during the morning session. Interested users are encouraged to stay as little or as long as their schedule permits. The seminar room will be set up accommodate up to 100 persons at a time. A significant departure from the current website and many similar Legion websites is that the new site is being designed to meet a variety of needs among a diverse users, including non-member veterans, educators and school counselors, government officials, and parents looking for scholarships or other educational opportunities. “The way we are setting up the site is quite different than most,” van Santen said. “What we are doing is orga-
“What we are doing is organizing information and placing it on the site in such a way that no matter how much or how little a user may know about the subject, the information will be appropriate for that user’s need.” Jay van Santen, Web Designer nizing information and placing it on the site in such a way that no matter how much or how little a user may know about the subject, the information will be appropriate for that user’s need. Everyone will go to the same section, but to a different area of interest.” For example, van Santen said, a Post Oratorical Contest chairman and a parent looking for scholarship information will both be directed to the same area of the site. “What we were acutely aware of is that often, our chairmen need more information about their program than they may have been given at the time they were appointed. “What they learn is as important to them as what a parent learns about student opportunities,” van Santen said. The website will continue to offer information and guidance to members in the expanded member section. Completeable pdf forms, live forums on issues and processes, calendars of important events, and post and officer information will be on the site. Access to the member site will be controlled, although the method for doing so has not yet been determined. The post locator feature is a particularly exciting prospect, said Assistant Adjutant Hugh Dagley, who is the primary staff member assisting with the project. “All Hoosier American Legion Posts will be listed on
the site in the locator. We plan to include the basic information about a post, of course; that information won’t be much different than what we now include on the existing site or in the directory. “What is new is that we will be able to list such information as hours of clubroom operation, whether or not the Post has special event space for rent, special community activities, and other characteristics that make each post a desirable part of the community. “All of that information will be searchable by members and non-members alike, as can be updated by Post officers with the appropriate password protected access,” The development of the website is being overseen by members of the Strategic Planning Committee, and has garnered the full support of the Department Finance Committee and the Department Executive Committee. In addition, staff members are contributing extensive information on their areas of responsibility, and the Task Group is soliciting regular input from tech-savvy Legionnaires. The Department will retire the URL, or internet address, long used by the Department in favor of a new site address: www.TheHoosierLegionnaire.org. Graphic design and technical innovation will be the hallmarks of the new site, said van Santen. “I think your members are going to be very excited about this new website.”
January Conference To Feature Important Information Housing registration is once again underway for the annual Mid-Winter Conference scheduled for January 13-15, 2012 at the Indianapolis Marriott Hotel East, 7202 East 21st Street in Indianapolis. Normal procedures for housing registration are in place, according to Amy Bender, Department meeting planner. Registrants should make their own reservations through the hotel, and request the conference rate for the Department of Indiana. Housing will continue to be at a premium at the Marriott itself, because of renovations still underway, but housing at the adjacent Fairfield and LaQunita is also available. Hotel personnel say the renovation of the public space at the hotel is on or ahead of schedule. Depending on the weather, the exterior should be completed by the time the conference gets underway, but some inconveniences may remain. Conferees need to remain flexible as the work is completed. 2012 Convention Volunteers Meeting An important session for volunteers who will be working the 2012 National Convention in Indianapolis next August has been called for
6:30 p.m. Friday, January 13, 2012. There will be a general meeting and two breakout sessions, one concerning the Convention Parade Committee, the other concerning the Badges and Packet Committee. The general meeting will be in Salon B, adjacent to the atrium of the hotel, followed by breakout sessions in Salons A and C, also just off the Atrium. Participants will be directed to the appropriate breakout session during the general meeting. Convention Vice Chairman Mark Gullion will chair the meeting, and representatives of the National Convention Commission and its staff will be present to answer questions and provide additional information. Service, Gaming and ABC Seminars Highlights of the conference include the Service Office Seminar detailed in a special article above, a presentation on charitable gaming by the Indiana Department of Revenue and an update on any changes governing the liquor license held by many Legion posts. Of particular interest will be the information provided by the Department Service Officers on changes in the way in which the office ac-
cepts and handles disability compensation claims. Good news on that front includes the hiring of an additional, experienced service officer who will be ready to handle claims fairly quickly. He will be introduced during the seminar. Membership Membership continues to be a majopr concern for the Department of Indiana. The current membership years continues the rate of decline experienced over the past decade, and the membership team will meet to address the problems. Information on the new member incentive program, “Little Mikey,” the last-place district award, an update from the Strategic Planning Committee and other topics will be addressed. Conference Party— Be A Sport Department Commander Mike Miller and his wife Joy will be hosting the traditional conference p[arty beginning at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, January 14. The party theme selected by the commander is sports, and he has encouraged party-goers to attend wearing their favorite team colors – be they high school., college or professional.