Category: Commentary

Voice of Democracy Winner’s Essay: Why My Vote Matters

Kate Cavanaugh, a senior at Holy Names Academy, is our Voice of Democracy winner. Kate read her essay during the December business meeting and received a standing ovation. Kate also placed first at District 2. Here’s her essay in full:

 

Kate Cavanaugh
Voice of Democracy essay (2018)
Prompt: Why My Vote Matters

 
My friend’s English teacher once told the class that the founding fathers were terrorists. He said they were ISIS, they were the Taliban. We were appalled and met with him to talk about it. He said it was an analogy. We thought it was a questionable analogy at best, and a terrible accusation at worst.

 
This accusation tears at the very foundation of our nation, and sadly, this is where some people are at in our country right now. Rather than tearing at our roots though, we as a country need to be grateful for the accomplishments of the founding fathers; for the declaration, which established our country and its values; for the constitution which illustrates our rights; for amendments that give us the tools to defend these rights, and even for the freedom to participate in our democracy through voting.

 
These rights are a wonderful thing, but it’s often easier to focus on the rights and forget that we have duties that come with these rights. Voting is one of these duties; it’s part of being a responsible citizen. Furthermore, to ignore the rights that men and women have fought and died for is not only lukewarm and mediocre, but also an insult to their memory. We must not let their sacrifice be wasted on us.

 
I have a close friend who refuses to vote; she thinks it won’t make a difference. While it might not make everything just the way she might want it to be, it does make a difference. It may be slow and subtle changes over time, but that is preferable to the volatility of an absolute ruler who can change anything to exactly what he wants in an instant.

 
The perspective that voting does nothing is one of despair, but America is not a country of despair. I once heard it described in this way: America is comedy, not a tragedy. A tragedy ends in death and despondency. Meanwhile, a comedy has hope; every failure is just a setback, and if you persevere, it has a happy ending.

 
The idea that the founding fathers were terrorists is also a form of despair: how could a country that was founded by terrorists ever be just or free? Except, the founding fathers were far different than terrorists. Rather than destroying, they created something new. It wasn’t perfect, but they built a country founded on the idea that all men are created equal; that government is a contract between itself and the people; that intrinsically, each and every person has inherent freedoms that must be protected.

 
Voting is about freedom. Which leads to the question, what is freedom? The common idea of freedom is to do whatever you want. However, there are limits on freedom: laws against assault, murder, et cetera. These restrictions exist to protect other freedoms, so while we have restrictions and limits on our freedom, when the laws are created and enforced in the right way, it makes us more free, not less. Pope John Paul II famously said, “freedom consists not in doing whatever we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” We have the freedom to vote or not to vote. We must do what we ought, however; we must respect and honor those who have sacrificed far more than we ever will so that we may have this freedom. We ought to be true to our duty as citizens. We ought not to give into despair, but rather to hope.

Quartermaster’s Update (January 2019)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Halfway through our VFW year, it’s time for a State of The Post post.

 

Officers and members are sustaining our meeting attendance at healthy levels. Commander Pete is using the round table format, joint public meeting with our Auxiliary prior to the regular business meeting, and good visual aids to make a lively and interesting meeting. If you haven’t been to a meeting lately, come on in and join the excitement.

 

Kudos to our volunteer kitchen crew; Chef Kay, Linda, Jan, Jessica, Justin, Dan and others, who have delivered great spreads for the monthly socials. Can’t forget those who faithfully come out for socials to enjoy gourmet meals and support our post.

 

Our post Honor Guard participated in several ceremonies, most recently providing honors and firing the rifle salute for the Wreaths Around America ceremony at Lakeview Cemetery, Dec. 15. Commander Joe Fitzgerald, Drill Captain Anthony, along with expert riflemen Dan, Bill, Tiffany and Norm, put on impressive ceremonies, no matter the occasion.

 

We have been working hard on membership. At the time of this writing we made it to 100% of last year’s numbers.

 

Our Voice of Democracy winner, Kate, won the District 2 competition and advances to the state level. Our Middle School Teacher of the Year winner, Dan, also won at District level and moves up to the state competition. If you know a student from 5th grade through high school, please encourage them to enter one of the three levels of competition. If you know of teachers who go above and beyond, please consider nominating them.

 

We’ve hired an architectural/construction firm to assess the current state of our property and present us with recommendations for updating or remodeling our building. They are making good progress. Our Building Committee has toured similar venues and is developing strategic plans as we move forward.
There was a good fundraiser in September thanks to many volunteers, especially the Seelig family. Proceeds went to our Post Relief Fund which allows us to aid deserving charities and help our own members.

 

In the past six months we’ve accepted over 75 unserviceable American flags for proper disposal. Several people have told me how relieved they are to have found a way to properly dispose of their unserviceable flags and thanked our post members for performing this vital service.

 

We held one secure shredding party this year and have another scheduled for 8:30 am to 10:30 am, Jan. 21. Please bring your documents and encourage your friends and neighbors to come, in return for a donation to defray the cost of this truck.

 

Bottom line, our post is thriving, more events are happening, and officers and members are working on strategies for future development and growth. Thanks to each of you for being a member and supporting our veterans, their families and our community.

From the Commander (January 2019)

Comrades:

 
2018 was another busy year for Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063.

 
We’ve logged over 800 hours of community service, we supported our adopted unit’s holiday party and had our post’s Voice of Democracy and Teacher of the Year candidates win at the district level. These are just a few examples of the long list of accomplishments in 2018. I’d like to thank all of the post and auxiliary members and leaders who helped make this a successful and productive year.

 
Behind the scenes in 2018, the leadership team and House Committee dedicated countless hours evaluating many aspects of our operations and looked for ways to improve how we conduct business at the post. We’ve been focusing on budget balancing, modernizing, optimizing and digitizing some of our processes and paperwork, as well as working closely with our architect consultants to complete the comprehensive assessment of our facility. I’m confident that when we complete this work, our future leadership teams will be equipped with valuable data and tools that will help them make more informed, data-driven decisions. While I acknowledge this work has taken some of our focus away from all of our other programs this year, I believe this effort has been necessary to ensure the long-term stability and survival of our growing community.

 
For those who may not already know, my wife Clare and I are expecting our first child in January, which will likely leave me with very little free time for the next few months. As such, most business meetings in the new year will be led by Sr. Vice Commander Joe Tiffany and Jr. Vice Commander Joe Fitzgerald.
On behalf of the Post 3063 leadership team, I’d like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 
Commander Pete Krawitz

Quartermaster’s Update (October 2018)

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the annual migration of the sun is more noticeable than in other places farther south.

 

The autumnal equinox (September 23rd this year), when our southbound sun crosses the equator each year, reminds the natural kingdoms to prepare in earnest for the winter. It reminds me that kids are back in school, the weather is turning colder and it’s time to air out the woolens. Well, maybe people don’t do that last so much anymore, but you get my drift, winter’s coming.

 

For VFW members, it’s time to get back to attending meetings and socials. Chef Kay has been putting on gourmet dinners for our social nights and Commander Pete’s new meeting format has drawn more attendees and participation. Remember, you can tune in our meetings no matter where you are by hooking up to our Zoom Remote broadcast. Connection info will be sent to your email address of record earlier on the day of the meeting. Warm up that laptop or smartphone and join us.

 

Why not make a note to save the first Thursday each month for our business meeting and the third Thursday for the social?

 

It’s also the time to check around our neighborhoods for potential members. New members usually don’t join our post if they aren’t asked. Even if your neighbor isn’t qualified, she may know someone nearby who is. The only way to find out is to ask.

 

Autumn is a good time of year to distribute Buddy Poppies. Our Buddy Poppy chair is Comrade Tiffany Cavin. She has a supply of special 9/11 commemorative poppies. Please contact her at 253-327-8906 or [email protected] if you are interested in helping with this project.

 

November brings Veterans Day, another day to help our poppy-making veterans. Our Ballard teams will be distributing Buddy Poppies that weekend. Again, if you are interested in helping this vital effort, please contact Comrade Tiffany.

 

Finally, as the sun moves farther south, remember to be safe out there. Street crosswalks, sidewalks and even the steps to your back porch can be dangerous as daylight ends earlier. Keep an eye out for hazards and especially watch out for children.

From the Commander (October 2018)

By Pete Krawitz

 

Did you know that our building is approaching it’s 68th birthday? Did you also know that the last time we pulled a construction permit for our building was 1986? Why is this important? Well, we know that the building likely needs significant repairs in the near future. Tackling those repairs may be a lot more complicated and costly than many of us realize.

 

We’ve been lucky to have our handy quartermaster, Harold Rodenberger, at the helm for so many years, however, some of the inevitable facility issues we will need to address in the future will likely be even beyond his capabilities to solve. So many Seattle building codes and regulations have been introduced and changed since we last pulled permits in 1986. For example, if we do any work in the building that would require a permit, it would likely cause an expensive cascading effect that would force us to bring other aspects of the building up to code. We would soon learn that the expertise and time required to fully understand these implications was well beyond all of our capabilities.

 

In order to better arm our post with the knowledge to make informed decisions now and even 10 years from now, we recruited the assistance of a local design-build team: Schacht Aslani Architects and Heartland Construction. The House committee and the leadership team reviewed a proposal, which was subsequently introduced to the members and approved in August.

 

I believe this will be one of the most important investments that the post has made in many years. The results of this work will provide all of us with critical information that we will be able to use for many years and will hopefully help ensure the long term survival of our post in Ballard.

 

So now what? Over the next few months, representatives from the architect and contractors will be crawling through our building to determine the current state of our facility, researching how new zoning and permitting impacts us, and conducting interviews with a variety of members of the post to better understand how we currently use the space. By early next year, we should have the results of this work and a series of recommendations from these experts.

 

At this stage, we’ve had an initial kick-off meeting with the contractors and will soon be developing the final schedule of interviews and surveys. We will be providing regular updates to the post members via the monthly business meeting and the newsletter.

 

If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to [email protected] or stop by before the next business meeting on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. (the meeting starts at 7 p.m.).

 

Finally, it’s worth noting that the work described above is going to be the primary focus of the leadership team and house committee between now and the end of the year. This doesn’t mean I want to put all other aspects of our work and mission on hold, we just need more volunteers to assist in coordinating post events and activities now more than ever (socials, VA hospital visits, etc.). If you are interested in assisting and/or leading any of those types of events or activities, please bring it up at the next business meeting (remember, you can submit the agenda items online by visiting www.vfwseattle.org) or send me an e-mail at [email protected].