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21-year SAL member to lead organization in 2026-27.

Newly elected Sons of �鶹��ƵAV National Commander Thom Skelley thanked the audience member who yelled, “Yay, Amy!” as Skelley addressed the 54^th SAL National Convention on Aug. 30 in Louisville, Ky.

Skelley was in the process of thanking his wife of 26 years, Amy, for her support when the yell came from the audience. It served as a fitting reflection of something he had said earlier in his post-election speech: the passion that drives is the emotion inside.

A 21-year member of the SAL, Skelley was elected as national commander for 2026-27 during the SAL national convention on Sunday, Aug. 30. The former Detachment of Texas commander has held numerous other leadership positions and earned his SAL eligibility through the service of his father William M. Skelley Sr., who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II from 1941 to 1945.

Skelley noted two things he carries everywhere with him: his father’s dog tags and his father’s 37^th Division infantry patch.

The patch, a red circle with a white border, is reflected in the design for Skelley’s commander’s coin and pin.

“So my first thanks goes to my father, William Martin Skelley Sr. … I love you. Thank you for your service to our country, and raising me to love God, country and family,” Skelley said.

The new national commander also thanked his 404,000 brothers in the SAL; the detachments whose activities he had been invited to participate in during his two years as trailing candidate and leading candidate; the Legion Family of Texas; his campaign team; the SAL commanders’ advisory committee; and his national vice commanders.

“To my sons, Evan and Kieran. You are truly (choke up a bit) the best people I know,” Skelley said.

“Lastly, to my beautiful wife of 26 years. Meeting you was fate. Becoming your husband was a choice. … But falling in love with you was beyond my control. Thank you for standing beside me, for making ordinary days feel special, and for never letting me face trials alone,” Skelley said.

“If I could give you one thing in life, it would be the ability to see yourself through my eyes. Only then would you realize how special you are to me. I love you now, and I always will.”

The year ahead. Skelley reminded the audience that “every member matters.”

“That’s not just in the Sons, that’s not just in the Legion, that’s not just in the Auxiliary, that’s not just in the Riders. Every member matters. They matter to somebody. They may not matter much to the organization, but that’s our fault as leaders. We need to engage them more, ask what their passion is, bring that out of them, so that they’re able to serve more,” he said.

Skelley added that “sons are born, members are made,” and noted the $6,000 in donations made at the SAL convention the day before.

“We know what we do. We recruit, we fundraise, we support �鶹��ƵAV. That’s what we do. We take care of our veterans, we take care of our children. That’s what we do,” he said.

Skelley’s project for his year as commander is focused on POW/MIA recovery and recognition.

“I would like for each squadron to be able to put a POW/MIA table in one of their local restaurants,” he said. “If they’re not willing to do the POW/MIA, if your squadron can’t afford to purchase the POW table, the team has created a POW/MIA poster. It has a beautiful picture of the table and the setting, it has the ceremony written on it, and on the bottom, it’s been left blank … so it can be customized.

“I really hope this raises awareness of the thousands and thousands of POW/MIA’s that are still unaccounted for.”

Skelley also hopes that the project can aid recognition of what the SAL and the Legion Family do. “We always talk about we’re our own worst enemy when it comes to tooting our own horn. ‘We don’t do it for the applause, we do it for the cause.’

“We’ve got to get out in front, folks, that’s how we grow this family.”

Also on Sunday, the SAL elected the five national vice commanders for 2026-27:

· Henry Hasselhan III of New Jersey, Northeast Region

· George Gray of Geogia, Southeast Region

· Phil Stander of Illinois, Central Region

· Casey Hansen of South Dakota, Midwest Region

· Matthew Griffis of Arizona, Western Region