SNOW HILL — A Greene County woman has advanced in the veteran service organization, American Legion Auxiliary, to become a district president.
JoAnn Artis Stevens, the wife of a Vietnam-era veteran, said she was installed into her new role to serve District 2 on June 15 in Raleigh during an Auxiliary state convention.
As a founding member of Unit 536 in Snow Hill, she became president shortly after the first leader passed away. The chapter of female veteran relatives was established in 2010, which was when Stevens became involved with the Snow Hill unit.
While she has a double-duty as unit president and district president, which serves 12 area counties, she is supported by a very active 17-member group.
“Our unit is small, but we have ladies who are really interested in what we're doing and they’re passionate about it,” Stevens said. “That makes it not so much of a double-duty because we have such a strong unit.”
American Legion posts nationwide are dedicated to supporting America’s veterans. There are 327 posts in North Carolina, with thousands of members.
During Stevens’ presidential tenure through 2014, she hopes to boost membership of Unit 536 by at least 50 percent.
“One of my goals is to make sure that every unit that we have is a strong unit and that we increase our membership to include juniors,” said Stevens, with junior members being girls under 18. “We need to have a transitional plan in place for our units as we age out. We want to have young women who are prepared to carry out the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary.”
Aside from her membership goals, Stevens will be the liaison between the state and local units.
“Our mission is to support our veterans and Veterans Home,” she said. “I’ll be supporting our posts, and I’ll … go between posts and headquarters to make sure there’s nothing that we need or questions that need to be answered.”
During the ceremony, she learned the responsibilities and importance of American Legion to veterans, including fundraising projects that support veteran groups.
“I learned a lot about it,” Stevens said. “It gave me a renewed sense of commitment.”
Her husband, Ray Stevens, who served in the military from 1969-72, said he is proud of his wife’s accomplishment.
“My wife is one that when she starts up, she always wants to go above the limits,” he said. “I really admire her for that.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.