Hosting a luncheon to recognize women veterans is extra impactful when it happens near the 78th anniversary of the groundbreaking Women’s Armed Services Integration Act that earned women a permanent place in the U.S. military. 
 
President Harry S. Truman signed the act into law on June 12, 1948. Today, Women Veterans Day is observed annually on that date. 
 
Women have been part of military service in some capacity since the Revolutionary War through present day. Over the years, women have gained access to positions previously unavailable to them — we see women on the front lines, as commanding officers, and retiring with over 20 years of military service to their country. 
 
Unit 114 in Alabama wanted to recognize its women veterans a little extra this year and decided on a luncheon. During the planning phase, one of the women veterans asked if there would be a guest speaker. 
 
“At that point in time, we did not have one, and she asked if she could do it,” said Unit 114 First Vice President Sharon Shaver. “This obviously meant a lot to her because her speech at the luncheon became very emotional for her. After, she told me she really needed this luncheon.”
 
With it being the first attempt at a gathering like this, there were about 20 people total. Everyone was grateful for the event and what military service means, especially as a female veteran. 
 
“The male [American Legion] post members let our female veterans know how much they appreciated the sacrifices and difficulties women in the military face,” Shaver said. 
 
As a result of how well everything went, word spread, and a larger ALA unit asked if they could join Unit 114 next year. The Legion members also said they want to help share in future costs of the event. 
 
“Our female veterans enjoyed themselves immensely, and we are already planning for next year,” Shaver said. “I hope we have started something that will grow in the years to come.”
 

Want to host your own women veterans luncheon? 

Department of Alabama Unit 114 First Vice President Sharon Shaver offers advice:
 
•  You will need help from your Legion members to contact the female veterans in the post. Because of privacy laws, the post can’t just give contact information without permission from that person. In our case, we created an invitation which was emailed to the post commander with a request to send it to the post members, including the male veteran members, in hopes that if they knew women veterans who are not post members, they would pass the invitation on to them. 

•  We also requested an RSVP to try to get a good count for food preparation. As is always the case, not everyone who attended let us know they were coming. We took the number that responded to the RSVP and doubled it. This worked out well. We even purchased gifts based on the double RSVP count and had gifts for everyone.

•  If you are doing a luncheon, I would suggest something light for food.  

•  Decorations can be whatever you want and what your budget allows.  

•  As far as volunteer work, our members prepared the food at home and brought it to the post. We just transferred all the food into decorative bowls and trays we have at the post and set it up on the tables. 

•  Starting small, you can talk to all of your guests to get their feedback and hopefully get suggestions about things you could do to help you have a bigger event in the future.