News and Notes from Navy League National President – October 2014

News and Notes from National President James H. Offutt

 

October 2014

 

In this issue:

■ Board of Directors Program Updates

■ A Call for Feel-Good News

■ Website Redesign

■ Navy Day – Oct. 27

■ Member Change of Address

■ Marketing Materials

■ Advertising Opportunity

■ Best Practices – Sharing our Successes

 

Dear Fellow Navy Leaguers,

 

    I have had the honor during my tenure as National President to attend numerous Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard balls, and award ceremonies. Why do we celebrate these birthday balls? We are remembering those who came before us who helped to make our organizations the best in the world, and to celebrate family-style the passing of time and milestones. This social opportunity gives us the chance to see others whose paths we would not typically cross.

Why do we hand out certificates of achievement and give awards to our Sailors, Marines and Coast Guard men and women, both officer and enlisted? Why do we recognize achievements of our Navy League members? Because, recognition of individual efforts reward valor, ideas, innovation and initiative, which provides encouragement to improve, be better, do more, achieve our goals and, ultimately, become who we, our parents or our teachers thought we could be. Awards, commissioning ceremonies, certificates of appreciation and recognition of achievements help us all to understand that what we do is important, it is all worthwhile, that we can reach our true potential.

Recognition from your peers and your superior officers makes all the hard work worthwhile. It gives you incentives to keep working hard and it gives you something to pass on to the next generation while recognizing the struggles of parents and grandparents, for all that they did to bring you to this place of honor and recognition. By recognizing your individual efforts, we are also recognizing the efforts of everyone who contributed to your success.

We are a family – a Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine family. Our active-duty branch of the family puts their lives on the line while their loved ones provide support to them and to each other on the home front. The Navy League helps both of those groups through the many support activities of our councils around the world.

At our Navy League meetings, we continue this tradition of fellowship and recognizing achievement. Coming up we have the Board of Directors meeting at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum, Md., Nov. 12-15, 2014. We will conduct the business of the Navy League – consider bylaws amendments, pass a budget for 2015 that funds our activities, elect a President-elect – and learn what various committees have been up to and chart a course for 2015. I encourage National Directors and other interested Navy Leaguers to join us. Visit  http://navyleague.org/bod/index.html for more information.

 

Board of Directors Meeting Updates

The following are updates to the Board of Directors Meeting program. For the full schedule and registration information, visit: http://navyleague.org/bod/program.html

■ Thursday, Nov. 13

Pentagon Tour – 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bylaws Committee Meeting – 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

■ Friday, Nov. 14

Registration – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Maritime Policy Committee Meeting – 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Membership & Marketing Committee Meeting – 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

International Affairs Committee Meeting – 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Youth Programs Committee Meeting – 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

 

Call for Feel-Good News

Navy League Headquarters has received a few “Feel Good News” items from our councils and we thank you for sharing your amazing stories of how you’re taking care of our sea service personnel and their families all over the country. We are still accepting council stories. Please send an email to communications@navyleague.org  and let us know any holiday programs or activities you have in the works – providing Thanksgiving turkeys, delivering toys, delivering Christmas trees, etc.

We would love to include your good deeds in the Winter “Navy Leaguer,” as well on the Navy League and Seapower social media sites. Please include the name of the program, a point of contact, dates and any other relevant information. Remember the “five Ws” when reporting on council activities: Who, What, Where, When and Why. This is the moment for your council to shine!

 

A New Look

The official website of the Navy League of the United States has a new look! The Communications Department at Navy League Headquarters, with input from other department heads as well as National Vice President for Communications and Marketing Maria-Isabel Dickey and Communications Committee Chair Nanci Pruter, spent the last several months overhauling the website. This more streamlined, user-friendly design better articulates to those who visit for the first time what the Navy League does and how they can get involved. Check it out at http://navyleague.org/.

 

Navy Day

Did you know that Navy Day was established on Oct. 27, 1922, by the Navy League of the United States? Oct. 27 was selected to recognize Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, as he had served at an Assistant Secretary of the Navy and supported a strong Navy. The U.S. Department of Defense ran the following article on the history of Navy Day:http://www.defense.gov/afd/navy.aspx

Although it was not a national holiday, Navy Day received special attention from President Warren Harding. Harding wrote to the Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby:

“Thank you for your note which brings assurance of the notable success which seems certain to attend the celebration of Navy Day on Friday, October 27, in commemoration of past and present services of the Navy. From our earliest national beginnings the Navy has always been, and deserved to be, an object of special pride to the American people. Its record is indeed one to inspire such sentiments, and I am very sure that such a commemoration as is planned will be a timely reminder.

    “It is well for us to have in mind that under a program of lessening naval armaments there is a greater reason for maintaining the highest efficiency, fitness and morale in this branch of the national defensive service. I know how earnestly the Navy personnel are devoted to this idea and want you to be assured of my hearty concurrence.”

Navy Day was last observed on Oct. 27, 1949. Each year on this day, and every day, I ask Navy League members to keep this in mind the mission of Navy League and to say “THANKS!” to all our men and women in the sea services.

 

Membership News & Notes

The Membership Department is asking Navy Leaguers to discard all membership applications printed prior to April 2014 because the mailing information on the return portion of the application is out of date. Potential new members are experiencing difficulty getting the applications to Navy League using the old applications. The current applications reflect a new Lock Box address and the rate increase, effective April 2014. The new applications can be found in the “Membership” section here:http://navyleague.org/communications/media.html

   Change of Address: We are asking councils to ensure all their members’ addresses, phone numbers and emails are current in the Navy League’s database. This will enable headquarters to have the most current information for mailings such as Seapower magazine and the Navy Leaguer e-newsletter. Members can check their information on the Online Community in the Member Directory tab. Members also can call Cynthia Bryant, Senior Director of Membership Services, at Service@navyleague.org or by phone at 800-356-5760.

 

Marketing Handouts Available Online

Last month, you were informed that professional Navy League Presentations are available to your councils on the website. These PowerPoint presentations can be downloaded and customized, if you so choose, to reflect your local activities and help you engage other organizations and groups within your communities and let them know what the Navy League is all about. We now have three presentations – one is a Navy League and sea services overview, with the others being Navy and Coast Guard-centric, respectively, available here: http://navyleague.org/communications/nlp.html

Remember to fill out a Communications Activity Report after you’ve given a presentation to let us know how it went and how we can improve our support for field activities: http://navyleague.org/communications/communications-activity-report.html

A number of members also have asked about handouts they can use when making these presentations. You will find the handouts available for your councils in the “Media & Marketing Resources” section of Communications on the website. There are six handouts under the “About Us” section here: http://navyleague.org/communications/media.html

You can download them to your desktop for printing or send them to the local printer to have copies made for your presentation. If you have any questions about these handouts, please contact Stacy McFarland, Staff Vice President, Development & Programs, atDevelopment@navyleague.org, or Amy Wittman, Staff Vice President, Communications, at awittman@navyleague.org, or call 800-356-5760.

 

Advertising Opportunity

Did you know that all Navy League Councils are given a 50 percent discount off ads inSeapower? Not only does the upcoming Almanac edition have a Navy League section, but it is sold and distributed throughout the entire year. For more information on advertising, please contact Adverting Sales Director Charlie Hull, at 301-987-0632, or email him at charlesahullbus@msn.com

 

This Month’s Best Practices

Please share your stories and pictures for our “Best Practices” folder, being compiled by Kathleen Branch. Send your Best Practices to: branch_kathleen@yahoo.com.

■ Midwest Region President Doyle Wilhite developed a questionnaire to assess the communications of his Council Presidents with National Headquarters and to better understand the needs of his councils. After sending the survey, he followed up with phone calls to the councils. Doyle plans to conduct a teleconference call with his councils as well as send a Region Newsletter.

Doyle received 100 percent response on his survey, he will share results during the Mentoring Session at the Board of Directors meeting Saturday, Nov. 15.

■ Mark Harden, Gulf Coast East Area President and Pensacola Council member, delivered the Navy League Presentation to over 100 Rotary members this month; after his presentation, he was asked to give a second presentation to another Rotary Club! In order to highlight Pensacola Council programs and events, Mark added local pictures to the Navy League Presentation. The feedback from the crowd was very positive. Mark also got front-page coverage in the Rotary Newsletter. Thank you for increasing the awareness about our NL Mission in Pensacola.

Remember, you can find the Navy League Presentations here:http://navyleague.org/communications/nlp.html

James H. Offutt

National President

Navy League of the United States

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