It’s that special time of year again! Excitement is building for the 104th ALA National Convention. This year, we will celebrate the end of the ALA’s 2024-2025 year in Tampa, Fla. 
 
Although National Convention is typically held at the end of August each year, ALA National Headquarters staff have been preparing for the weeklong event well in advance to ensure convention runs smoothly.
 
EVENTS: Every year, their to-do list for convention is endless, but some tasks they can check off that list: an on-site visit to the National Convention location to see the space with The American Legion Family; planning an initial agenda to accommodate all of the meeting spaces; updating and publishing all convention information for members; designing a production “look” for our members; working with the national president to plan the agenda and all special events; inviting speakers and distinguished guests to speak; planning content for breakout sessions; packing materials and supplies to send to the convention city; and working with vendors and American Legion staff on all logistics related to the convention. 
 
ADMIN: Our National Headquarters’ Administration Division is instrumental in the success of convention which helps establish expectations during the new administrative year. A fraction of their pre-convention duties: convention stage/podium scripting; pre- and post-National Executive Committee meeting packets as well as scripts; Constitution & Bylaws scripting for stage presentation of amendments to delegates; national president scheduling; presentation and ratification for national appointments; updating all government documents based on amendments made by convention delegates, board, and NEC meetings; scripting for luncheon and States Dinner; planning governance breakouts; installation rehearsal and organizing installation badges, pins, sashes, etc.; stage/tech/production rehearsals; and running and scripting onsite pre-cons for C&B and ALA resolutions. 
 
PROGRAMS: Turning efforts into impact, the Programs Division prepares in many ways: They assist the national committee chairs with platform remarks, end-of-year reporting, as well as pre-con meetings; they print and distribute awards to departments and prepare the awards spreadsheet for distribution during pre-cons; finalize edits on reporting questions and Program Engagement Plans for the next admin year; gather and process impact numbers; process awards address verifications for Poppy Poster winners, Americanism Essay Contest winners, 10,000 hour and 20,000 hour VA volunteer award recipients, and our VAVS Volunteer of the Year nominee.
 
COMMUNICATIONS: Some of this creative team’s convention preparations: coordinating national committee and officer reports for the annual Book of Reports (written) and with National Convention producer for spoken/platform remarks; editing platform remarks before they are sent to the producer and editing after all have been formatted into scripts for big screens; coordinating all photography during National Convention for ALA media; acting as lead for national president’s end-of-year video report; coordinating with award recipient(s) for interviews, photos, and media releases; managing on-site media. 
 
DEVELOPMENT: Our Development Division team members are the driving force behind raising funds to fulfill our mission of Service Not Self. Their pre-National Convention tasks include, but are not limited to: ordering Wall of Heroes installation; ordering giveaways for donors at Wall of Heroes; working with sponsors; designing invitations to send to top donors and legacy donors; purchasing gifts for Top Donor Reception; and ordering giveaway items for drawings at the American Legion Auxiliary Luncheon and States Dinner events. 
 
MEMBERSHIP: Before convention, the Membership Division helps pull membership reports which determine the delegate count/strength for each department for National Convention. They also conducted the membership pre-convention committee meeting.