A publication of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
December 1999/January 2000
Membership MattersA Year of Transition
By Allen Green, Director of Membership
As I reflect on my first complete year as director of the Membership Affairs Department, the wonderful support my team has received from the organization has been gratifying. It’s been a year of transition for our group. We’ve come a long way in a very short time. The split of AVVA from VVA was the highest hurdle, and the growing pains are not quite over. Delays continue in getting out AVVA’s membership materials, but those delays should be over soon. Membership Affairs is using our new Microsoft Access database full-time. Many of our longstanding procedures and policies need to be updated and improved. Since these two areas are so closely related, we need to resolve both in tandem.
We’ve reached the midpoint in VVA’s renewal season, and so far, results look very positive. All VVA and AVVA annual members who have not renewed their membership will receive a second reminder very soon. As always, it helps when members renew early. This minimizes confusion and simplifies the tally we use to credit chapters and state councils with rebate monies and membership numbers. We began using a redesigned member card format recently. We hope it meets with your approval. Although the actual cards changed very little, the idea-card form includes updated web site and E-mail addresses for VVA. It’s a handy item to keep for future reference.
I’m proud to say that VVA and AVVA member benefits have increased greatly over the past year. Discount insurance and travel programs are the two active programs, with several additional ideas under study by VVA’s national staff. I’m glad we can offer several excellent choices on discounted life insurance, long-term care coverage, and cancer insurance. Most VVA and AVVA members are in the age group for which this type of protection becomes desirable. VVA has set up a very attractive program with Progressive Management Associates to insure we can provide members with quality coverage. Look for information about these discount offers on the VVA web site (in the Membership area) or call us at the national office.
Several members have called with concerns about mailings by programs that use the VVA logo. Be assured that every item you receive has been reviewed and approved. Additionally, be assured that your personal information has not been sold. VVA and AVVA do not--and will not--release personal data for commercial use. Please contact me if you have any questions on this subject. Often, chapters and state councils develop similar programs for their membership, so please check the source of the mailing as your first step.
E-mail us at TheVeteran@vva.org