I'm happy to be your new adjutant

Assistant Adjutant Jared Morgan (left) and Adjutant Kevin Niles pose for a photo during Palisades Post 283’s annual holiday party on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023.

I have dedicated much of my career and my education to advocating for veterans, their families, and our community. My journey in marketing and communications has long been intertwined with a deep commitment to veterans' issues. For the better part of 15 years, I have worked to ensure that our stories and experiences as veterans are heard and understood.

Stepping into the Post 283 adjutant role means I’m ending my time as the design manager for Sightline Media Group, where I’ve spent the past three years writing stories and designing magazines for the military and veteran news outlet’s five print magazines. Much of my career has been spent in the news industry and I’m excited to bring that skill to Post 283 full time to tell our stories and help grow our Legion family.

For most of the past year I’ve been working part time for Post 283 as its assistant adjutant and full time for Sightline, in addition to the time I spend in graduate marketing studies at USC. Summer seems a long way off, but it will come with a master degree and a singular focus on our great organization.

I joined Palisades Post 283 in 2014 while working as news editor for The Palisadian-Post. I thought it would be a good way to collect veteran stories for the newspaper. Since then, I’ve been an active member in one form or another. At the request of our then-Commander Jere Romano, I transferred to Santa Monica Post 123 in 2017 to become its adjutant and help to revitalize the struggling post. Since then, I’ve held several other positions at the Post, District, Department and National levels.

My role at the American Legion Department of California as senior editor and Web Team lead is ongoing and allows me to focus on these efforts at the state level, creating platforms and narratives that elevate our voices.

For most of 2023 as your assistant adjutant, and now as your adjutant, I bring to you this same dedication to our local community. In addition to the necessary administrative functions of the Post — many of which are assisted by our small but dedicated staff, consisting of Deloris Artis, Larry Kirven and Jose Romo — the adjutant is responsible for helping to create a welcoming atmosphere to help with organizational growth. For us, this means putting on events that makes new people want to come back.

My aim is to uphold the standard set by our outgoing adjutant, Kevin Niles, and ensure that the vision of our commander, Jim Cragg (as well as those of other commanders to come), is fully executed. Jim and Kevin’s leadership has paved the way for future leaders to take up the standard and carry forward a slate of meaningful and (dare I say it?) fun events for years to come.

From those events, we will continue to create impactful content that not only informs but also advocates for the needs and interests of our community, showing veterans and their families that this is the Post they should join and increasing the size of our well, from which we can draw new leaders to sustain the legacy of Post 283 for generations to come.

None of what we’ve done or what we hope to accomplish in the future would be possible without our wonderful volunteers in the Legion, the Sons and the Auxiliary, who selflessly give their time and effort to help keep this ship afloat. If you’re an active volunteer or have done so in the past, I thank you. If you haven’t volunteered and can spare the time, please sign up here so we can keep you in the loop when we have a need.

I look forward to working closely with you all, to listen, to share, and to continue advocating for our community's needs. Let’s have some fun!

Feel free to connect with me on Linkedin and when you see me around the Post, come say hi.

Warmest regards,

Jared Morgan
Adjutant