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Its been a whirlwind of activity since the National Convention. Thank you to everyone who made our National President Dr Coral May Grout feel welcomed to our great state. I was pleased to see participation from the entire Legion Family at the majority of the stops. She left Kansas feeling loved, supported and empowered. She expressed overwhelming happiness with everything Kansas is doing and the collaboration she saw amongst the family. Thank you for all the Posts and Units that hosted the meet-n-greets and meals for her visit. We could not have succeeded without all of you.

There have been many questions in regards to the new eligibility for the American Legion Auxiliary. Vice President Laurie Kern will be explaining the changes in upcoming articles, communications and graphics. These changes have sparked a little unease in some areas. I wanted to caution units when considering to accept members into their units that we must not reject any applicant based on discriminatory factors such as gender, sexual orientation, etc.. Although federal law does not strictly prohibit this practice in a non-profit, only really applying to employment, the IRS can revoke our Tax-Exempt status for discriminating against membership acceptance based on these factors, if otherwise allowable by our governing documents. Furthermore, the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (KAAD) explicitly defines such practices as "unlawful discriminatory practice" to deny or restrict membership in a non-profit organization when their constitution and bylaws allow for their membership. Only religious or nonprofit fraternal or social associations are granted an exception. Please be cautious during unit votes on the basis for any and all rejections, documenting this information in your meeting minutes, just in case any questions or accusations arise. Please also remember, that each unit and district will also need to go through the process of changing their governing documents to align with the National and Department Constitution and Bylaws to include gender neutrality language. Contact the Department Constitution and Bylaws Chairman Sonia Wiley with any questions or needed guidance.

New membership year reports will not be available until after October 5th per National. We are only given the option to run for 2026. We thank you for your continued patience with the new ALA MIS changes and upgrades. We will get a report out for 2027 as soon as they are available. VP Laurie Kern has sent all Districts the membership goals. If you have not yet received yours, please reach out to your District membership chair for your specific goal.

I know everyone is in State Fair mode, however, please fill out the form that comes up when scanning the QR code on the registration flyer for Fall Conference. You do not need to pay now, however I would like to have a rough count of attendees to communicate to the Post Family that is preparing our meals to ensure we have plenty and guard against them preparing too much. We are aiming to be good stewards with the resources available to us and guard against waste.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to assist where I can.

Thanks,

Kristen Hensley - Department President

American Legion Auxiliary Department of Kansas

1314 - B SW Topeka BLVD Topeka, KS 66612

Email: ksaladeptoffice@gmail.com. Phone: 785-232-1396