Headquarters is looking for operational pictures of deployed husbands, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters and profile them in LINK, or post the pictures and profiles on a password protected section of our web site (this will be accomplished later this year once the roll out is complete and Willie Williams and his team have time to focus on that item).

Please share this with all of your volunteers and employees and encourage them to provide HQ with a high resolution digital photo of their loved one at work, complete with a short profile that identifies their unit/command, length of deployment, anticipated return home date, and a first person quote from the deployed Sailor or Marine that explains his or her job.

I think you might be surprised how many of our Society family members have loved ones who meet this criteria. We have four at HQ alone. I promise to share the results.

The Society has been exposed and vulnerable in publishing photographs of staff members interacting with clients or attributing quotations to clients without obtaining written permission up front. Even if we're publishing the pictures or comments exclusively in Society brochures, calendars, or posting these images and captions on our Society web site, or releasing them to a base or station newspaper, we should still obtain permission. Fortunately, we've never had a legal issue or lawsuit. But looking to the future, and with due diligence, all of us should protect ourselves and our organization. With that in mind, I have attached a Photo & Quotation Release Form for use throughout the Society. Although intended primarily when taking pictures of service members and their families (clients) that are receiving assistance from Society staffers, (action pictures are so much better than posed group shots), this form should also be signed by all of our photo subjects--including Society volunteers and employees. It is simply a safeguard. Once signed, the form should be retained by the Director. When photographs and/or quotations are sent to Headquarters, we will assume that they have been cleared for use. As the Society moves forward, implementing our Strategic Plan, with an eye to improving our processes, procedures and products, (and service to our clients), this form will help us minimize mis-steps when we seek to publicize our valuable programs and services.