State Board of Advisors

Local Organization 
Support Our Troops^® builds local organization infrastructure both through this online forum and local interaction so that local people have a means by which to get involved and run this at the local level while having the help and resources of the national campaign available.  

As we work in a state we make good local connections and encounter people and groups who earnestly want to  help the troops and are glad to find Support Our Troops^® as an easy and trustworthy vehicle through which they can do so. 

We have set up two participation vehicles.

The State Level Board of Advisors.  Support Our Troops^® establishes a Board of Advisors for the state.   This approach enables notable and connected persons to participate with their peers in an orderly manner, present themselves to the public with a recognized capacity when such is necessary,  yet remain free of the responsibility and liability of being a corporate director.   Some local boards have legislators, lobbyists, and corporate executives on them.  There is not a fixed number of positions for the Board of Advisors.  The trick is for each state’s locals to eventually blend both political figures,  top people from the top local businesses, local major sports figures,  and the like together onto the Board.  Since the state Board of Advisors is not a corporate directorship with all of the bother about liability and control, as many top people as wish can freely participate.  The Board could have 10 members, it could have 60.   It will evolve to where they decide on and throw their weight behind a local fundraising event, such as a golf tournament, fishing tournament, sporting clay tournament, or the like.  And then the general pubic members of the Support Our Troops Association (discussed below)  pitch in to handle the organization and execution work. The Board communicates informally, and is facilitated by the local State Coordinator.   The principal purpose of the Board is to provide strategic business planning advice and occasionally help open a door, make a connection, bridge a gap, when the organization is working to put together a  rock concert, golf tournament, or other such event to benefit the troops and their families.

Support Our Troops^® Association.  To involve the general public, SOT^® formed the Americans Support Our Troops Association, Inc.   The All-American entry level is free.   People are members of their state chapter of the Association.  This interacts through the forum area of the website, with local people able to post bulletins and notices about local events, resources, and the like on their state page.  Combined with the website address printed on the plates, it is intended to be a central reference point and clearinghouse for local information for local active duty troops, local vet groups, local charities, and information efforts to help the troops such as putting packages together to send them and the like. 

There is a free entry level membership, and several higher levels, as well as the ability for a club (such as a VSO, a Post,  Rotary, etc)  to have an affiliate membership in the Association as a club to show support, and the ability for a business to have a corporate membership.

The website is an interactive community portal site in which association members can log on with their user name and password, and post notices on their state page about events that are happening for the troops, fundraisers,  local charities, groups or churches that are putting together packages for the troops and what is needed and where to contact people locally.   It is an immensely useful single source portal for local interaction.