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Legionnaire and Gold Brigade recipient George Delaney attributes training, knowledge, outreach, engagement and welcoming to recruiting success.

George Delaney recruited 89 new American Legion members for the 2024-2025 membership year, which earned him 91Ӱ���ƽ�� Gold Brigade award. His recruiting efforts were on display at the Navy Football Homecoming game last October when he supported the Legion’s activation display by educating veterans and others about the organization. He signed up at least 10 new members.

“I attribute my success to having enough knowledge to represent 91Ӱ���ƽ�� in depth,” said Delaney, commander of American Legion Post 300 in Columbia, Md. “I can tell veterans about any of our four pillars, any of our programs.”

Delaney has helped Post 300’s membership nearly double in less than three years and attributes his recruiting success to training, knowledge, outreach, engagement and welcoming new recruits alongside post members. He shared the following tips:

Training. “Effective recruiting starts first of all with training,” Delaney shared. He recommends recruiters take the Legion’s free online course and Be the One suicide prevention training. “Those two are very essential.”

Knowledge. “A recruiter should be able to speak with knowledge on the four pillars of 91Ӱ���ƽ�� and know programs under each of the pillars that you can explain,” Delaney said. “So when a prospective member asks you, ‘What can I do in the Legion?’, you have things you can tell them right up front that might intrigue them enough to want to join.” 

Delaney encourages Legionnaires to obtain knowledge by attending department and National American Legion College, and district meetings and department conventions. “This will help Legion members understand how 91Ӱ���ƽ�� works at all levels so when you get questions about the functioning of the Legion, you will be knowledgeable to explain it.” 

Outreach. “To have an effective recruiting program, I believe every post should have an outreach program to reach the communities outside the post, and that turns out to be the best place to find new members,” Delaney said. “Sitting behind the four walls of the post just won't do it. You need to get out in the community.

“Post 300 does not have a home, so we meet at a church once a month and we meet at a restaurant once a month. We're in the community all the time and it's actually being in the community that makes us so attractive because we bring the information to the veteran where he or she lives. So that's why outreach is so essential in an effective recruiting program.”

Delaney sets up a five-foot table at community events. On the table he displays:

• American and POW/MIA flags. “It draws your attention, and particularly for the veterans. And that's what we want, because no veteran is going to walk by the flag and not want to find out what this is all about. So you want to draw attention to your table.”
• VA benefits brochures, post donation box and small American flags for children to take. “If you get the children, you get the parents,” he said. 
• Membership applications. Delaney recommends having clipboards with pre-filled Legion member applications attached. “Why is that important? Sometimes you're going to be approached by more than one potential member at a time. If you can present them with a clipboard, the application and a pen, they can be working on that while you're explaining to the other person what the important aspects of the Legion are.” He also advises to check every member application for completeness and accuracy, especially email. “You want to be able to contact them, send them the newsletter or any other important communications that will help them make the decision to join if they're not ready to join at the actual location.” 
• Photo yearbook. The yearbook has photos of members in action having fun doing the programs under the four pillars. “This works so well because a picture is worth 1,000 words,” Delaney said. “Every photo is selected to show that members have fun doing the work of 91Ӱ���ƽ��. So fun is at the beginning of everything we do in my post, and I think that's why our post is so successful.” 
• Take-home packet. For potential members in a hurry, the kit includes a membership “application and visual aids showing our members involved in our programs, but always presenting our members having fun as fun is a big part of the recruiting," Delaney said. 

Engagement. “The most important thing is finding as quickly as you can a point of commonality with the veteran. When you establish that connection, they'll become very willing to join the Legion.” 

For example, Delaney created one-page sheets to hand out that features Be the One and the Legion’s four pillars with photos of Post 300 members in action under the four pillars, along with one that has 10 ways 91Ӱ���ƽ�� strengthens community and youth through programs such as Boys and Girls State, as well as scholarship opportunities.  

“Potential members love the fact that we are fully equipped to give them the information they want on the spot,” Delaney said. “I have all the forms, all the pictures, and everything that they can want to answer the question, ‘Why would I want to join the Legion?’ I never say no. I always say yes, there's something for you.”

Bridging post members with new recruits. Once a month at a local restaurant, new Post 300 members will cut a sheet cake in his or her honor and help pass it out to other post members.

“We need to recruit and yet immediately bridge that recruit into our post family and get them involved in a program right at the beginning and that's the success of it,” Delaney emphasized.