Expanded offices in Indianapolis
Space considerations limited the American Legion National Headquarters staff’s use of word processors and computers in the late 1980s to only one word processing terminal in each division. Most staff had no access to computers.
The space required by new computer technology and a growing Marketing Services team necessitated a search for more office space.
Leased offices at Park100 on the northwest side of Indianapolis opened in May, 1991 and provided space for Haynes & Pittenger Communications, a Legion-owned direct marketing and advertising firm, and the newly created Customer Service and Management Information Services (MIS) divisions.
The MIS team implemented The American Legion's first membership database using an IBM AS400 beginning in 1990, a monumental task that significantly improved retention and retrieval of membership data and reduced errors in membership records.
After implementation of the database, every staff member who needed access to membership information had a computer for the first time.
The IT staff who participated in the conversion provided detailed training sessions for every staff member, teaching them not only how to use the Membership Management Information System (MMIS), but also teaching them basic computer skills like using a mouse and navigating Microsoft Word and Excel.
By the mid-1990s, the cost of the Park100 lease and the need for more office space led The American Legion's National Executive Committee to investigate locations for a permanent office to house the National Headquarters MIS, Emblem Sales and Customer Service divisions.
U.S. Army Gen. Ron Brooks oversaw Fort Benjamin Harrison’s decommissioning as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and served on the team developing a reuse plan for the fort’s land on the northeast side of Indianapolis in Lawrence.
After retiring from the Army, Brooks joined the staff at The American Legion as director of marketing services. His connection to the area helped the organization obtain approvals from the Fort Benjamin Harrison Land Reuse Authority for The American Legion to build a second location at the site.
Past National Commander John H. Geiger led a committee overseeing Project 2000, the effort to choose a site for the new offices, identify operational space needs, and forecast future growth to ensure that the new building would meet the National Headquarters’ needs for years to come.
A retired architectural engineer, PNC Geiger influenced the new building’s design and construction.
Construction formally began with groundbreaking ceremonies on May 9, 1999 and the building was dedicated a year later.
After Geiger passed away in January 2011, the Fort Benjamin Harrison offices were renamed the John H. Geiger Operations Center and rededicated the following fall.
The staff at the John H. Geiger Operations Center continues to support every other national staff division as well as every department, post and member through data management, Emblem Sales merchandise, mailings and more.