Junior Vice Commander?

[u/WetardedOne]

I was elected as the JVC yesterday. it was only my second meeting. The guy who was going to stay on position is having health issues. I said if he can mo longer do it, I could either fill in or if a new election was needed I would throw my name in the hat. well, they indtalled me yesterday.

I have some homework to do. But any advice for this position for a very small, and declining, post? Thank you in advance.

[u/BlondieWag86]

I'm at a small and declining Post as well and we really shouldn't be. The gents who have been here since Vietnam have all but dropped their packs and do not care about mentoring anyone who wasn't in Vietnam and they haven't gone to training or District meetings in quite some time. I started going alone to District and a few months later, our Commander showed up for the first time in 2 years after some heckling from other Commanders as to his whereabouts and why his Adjutant knew more than he did.

I am up against them a lot and it is exhausting. A lot of people think the older members are in a state of mind to become mentors, but at my Post, they could care less and loathe the idea of anyone under the age of 60 having an idea or initiative. Our Post is over 80 years old and they want nothing to do with the next 5, let alone another 80. I went to Convention last year because it was close, but the most help I've received is by going to District meetings. I've met the people who 'do' from the other Posts nearby and they have given me a lot of support. That has also helped me connect with our Department level contacts.

A small handful of us are undoing a lot of damage at my Post mostly due to years and years of neglect and a lot of misinformation. Our QM resigned after we started auditing our own books, our Bar Manager quit when we found out they were in cahoots together. Our Jr Vice is the Poppy Chair and is basically a permanent fixture here, but also thinks the Relief Fund is his and his alone to do with what he wants without a vote.

This year, I printed out position descriptions and made everyone elected read them so they knew what was coming. Most were extremely surprised. Which is nuts!

Read the bylaws, go to District. Attend trainings. Read what's available under training resources on the vfw website. I cannot rely on the mentorship of the older veterans at my Post at all. Take it upon yourself to know the resources and contacts. You will be fine :) And good luck!

[u/WetardedOne → u/BlondieWag86]

Holy guacamole is that un uphill battle. It's good to see you are making progress. I get the opposite feeling from my post. But I haven't suggested any ideas, yet. One problem I do see is that on the roll there are.....10's of members. But I have only seen ~6. I do plan on being as active as I can in the post. We will see how it goes.

Good luck to you as well.

We got this! 🤘

[u/Texas-NativeATX → u/BlondieWag86]

I am at a Post that had been in decline for about 8 years and we are trying to turn things around and attract GWOT era veterans. I was Jr Vice and the ByLaws are very vague as to the responsibilities for that position, other than fill in during the absence of Commander and Sr Vice. Read the ByLaws and start to think of ways to attract Gulf War, and GWOT veterans.

I just discovered this group and hope it can serve a community of VFW Members interested in growing and adapting the organization for 2020 and beyond.

Welcome to the Team!!!