Delegates to the 89th National Convention of the American Legion Auxiliary elected Rita Navarreté as national president during the close of the organization’s convention in Louisville, Ky. Navarreté is a lifetime member of Otero-Garcia-Navarreté Unit 72 in New Mexico. She is eligible for membership in the Auxiliary through her husband, Tony, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam era.

Navarreté is a regular volunteer at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque. She has served in a variety of American Legion Auxiliary leadership roles at the local, state and national levels, including national chairman of the Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, Children & Youth, Community Service, and Membership committees. Navarreté also served as the national vice president representing western states in 1999-2000.

Navarreté retired in 2003 as administrative officer under the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Agency, completing 37 years as a federal public servant. She and her husband Tony have been married for more than 40 years and have two sons, six grandsons and one granddaughter—all members of The American Legion Family.

Founded in 1919, the American Legion Auxiliary is the world’s largest patriotic women’s service organization. With a membership of nearly 900,000, local ALA units have a strong presence in more than 9,500 communities nationwide. The Auxiliary’s mission to serve veterans, their families and their communities is carried out through its hundreds of outreach programs delivered by its members, volunteers and national headquarters.