Community Service Activities Can Help
Councils Increase Visibility, Influence
By PETER ATKINSON, Deputy Editor
Alot of traditional Navy League council activities can be considered community service. Support
of youth groups — Reserve Officers’
Training Corps (ROTC), Junior
ROTC, the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet
Corps, Navy League Cadet Corps —
as well as hosting visiting sea service
members and honoring Sailors/
Marines/Coast Guardsmen of the
quarter/year, etc., all are valuable
services that are integral parts of the
Navy League mission.
But the “community” being
served here can be somewhat narrowly focused if they just encompass
adopted units, local military facilities
or recruiting stations, or visiting
ships. By increasing the scope of
activities and reaching out to other
civic or service organizations and the
local civilian population for cooperation and/or participation on projects or events that serve or involve
the community at large, councils can
expand their reach, improve awareness of the Navy League and possibly
open up a new avenue for prospective members.
To help councils “think outside
the box” about ways to expand
their activities within their hometowns and increase their visibility
and influence, William Waylett Jr.,
Navy League senior director of
Regional Activities, is offering a
“Your Council in Community
Service” workshop that was
unveiled last spring and has been
presented at several regional meetings and during the National
Convention in Corpus Christi,
Texas, last fall.
Because community service
opportunities can seem endless —
and involve anything from volun-
U.S. NAVY
Rear Adm. Gary R. Jones, commander, Naval Education and Training Command, congratulates Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kelvin J. Chatman for
earning the Pensacola, Fla., Council’s
2009 Margaret Flowers Civic Award
Feb. 26. The award has been given
to service members from Navy commands in the Pensacola region since
1983 in recognition of superior community service.
teering and donating funds or professional expertise to supporting or
organizing special events — the
workshop is designed to help
councils identify projects that will
support growth in their activities
and membership, and implement a
strategy for moving forward.
The key, of course, is to be in-
volved. According to the “Your
Council in Community Service”
workshop guide, “Organizations
that are involved in the communi-
ty are relevant and are recognized
by the community.”
A number of councils already are
involved in community service and
their activities show just what myr-
iad possibilities are available. For
example:
■ The San Diego and Honolulu
Councils, among others, this year
hosted special events for Individual
Augmentee (IA) Sailors and Marines
who were returning from deployments overseas. In April 2008, the
Navy League’s Northwest Florida
Region teamed with Naval Air
Station Jacksonville to honor nearly
150 IAs at an IA Appreciation Program Luncheon.
The San Diego Council also
spearheaded an effort to promote
and expand Navy League support of
Operation Homefront, an organization created in 2003 to channel volunteer support to aid families of
deployed service personnel. The
Navy League was the first major
national organization to establish a
strategic relationship with the
group. [See the President’s Message
on Page 3 for a list of “wounded
warrior” programs councils can get
involved with.]
■ The Navy League’s Great Lakes
Region partnered with the Navy
Region Midwest Reserve Component Command to support the
Returning Warriors Workshops,
which are aimed at reacclimating
and reintegrating Reservists returning to civilian life from service in
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
■ The Honolulu Council, in conjunction with U.S. Pacific Command,
began the Navy League Key Spouse
Recognition Program five years ago
to honor outstanding spouses of
service members from all branches of
the military representing Hawaii-based military commands and units.
■ The St. Augustine, Fla., Council
hosted “Salute to the Coast Guard”
events that drew more than 4,000
attendees.
