NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Todd McKinley, the current Sullivan County Board of Education’s 5th District representative and immediate past President of the Sullivan County Veterans Memorial, was elected and sworn in as (State) Department Commander of the American Legion of Tennessee on Sunday.

The Department Commander is the chief executive officer who manages the organization, implements programs and policies, and serves as a liaison with the national organization.

McKinley is a lifetime paid member of the American Legion and belongs to Post 3 in Kingsport. The post meets on the third Monday of every month in the Eastman Conference Room on the second floor of the V.O. Dobbins Center.

McKinley encouraged all veterans to join the American Legion, the nation’s largest and most prominent veterans service organization.

As he recently noted, “all the services and benefits Veterans currently enjoy, can be undone with a stroke of a pen. That’s why it’s vitally important to bolster membership numbers, after all, the term there’s strength in numbers rings true when you consider our nation’s legislative process and how legislation is advocated for and ultimately passed and signed into law.”

To read more, visit The American Legion Department of Tennessee or McKinley’s website.