Category: Commentary

By Harold Rodenberger

In case you haven’t heard, we are doing business meetings and socials in person. We also have a Zoom option for business meetings and a takeout option for the social dinner. Come join us for either or both and enjoy socializing with your fellow members.

Our big Spaghetti Fundraiser for the year is coming on the 22nd of October. We need prizes and we especially need attendees to bid on those prizes. Tickets are available at the office and online at the BiddingOwl site. We also need volunteers to sell tickets. If you can, please buy your tickets at the office or from one of the officers and we’ll save the approximately 5% commission for the online purchase. 

We had a successful shredder event in August. If you missed out, have more to shred, or have friends who would like to have their documents securely shredded, please let me know and we’ll schedule another shredder truck visit later in the fall or early winter.

If you’ve been to one of our December socials, I’m sure you remember Santa and her Elf. Our Elf is still with us, but long-time Santa, Ann Leake, moved on to Santa Heaven earlier this year. If you (or someone you know) has a knack for playing Santa, please contact Commander Aly or me and we’ll hook you up with Rudolf in preparation for our Holiday Party in December.

Next month on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, our post is hosting a team from BloodWorksNW for a blood donation event. The blood bank desperately needs blood, so, if you are eligible to give, please sign up for this event and gain the satisfaction of knowing that your blood may save a life.

Nov. 11 also brings our community paint day to add a dramatic mural to the front of our building. We need painters, helpers and cheerleaders. More details will be available as the date gets closer.

Our membership is down this year. We had more deaths than usual last year and our annual-member renewal rate is down. If you need financial help renewing your membership, please reach out to me. If you’re an annual member, come to our business meeting to qualify for a free life membership. After you attend two meetings, you are eligible for the drawing for that free life membership. Also, it’s very important to recruit new members. Please make it your practice to carry a membership application and ask people if they are veterans. Many haven’t served, but others have and are willing to join if asked.

September is here, which means the kids are back to school (yay!), our days are getting shorter and the holidays will be here before you know it! It also means our annual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on October 22 is right around the corner. I’ve started reaching out to local businesses to gather donations, which is super easy to do. As Comrade Russ Seelig says, you won’t get anything if you don’t ask and you’d be surprised how giving our local businesses can be. They value our mission and know that it’s a win-win to support our event. If you want any tips for soliciting donations, just ask me or Russ. (This info is also helpful for businesses to know: The VFW is a non-profit 501(c)(19) organization, group exemption #283, Tax ID 91-6010610.)

Our mural project is moving forward. The artist, Chris Kent, is an Air Force veteran and we’re super excited to work with him. He’s scheduled to stop by the post before our September business meeting to meet our members and talk through some ideas for the mural. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey I solicited from our entire membership. After reviewing the responses, I’m going to stay focused on creating opportunities for our members to connect and give back, whether it be volunteering at the VA or participating in a Veteran’s Day ceremony. If you want to organize a service event for the post, please let me know at [email protected].

In Comradeship,
Alyson Teeter, Commander

Greetings! I’m writing this column on a ~90-degree day, which brings me back to my recent experience in another hot location: Kansas City, Missouri. In late July, Comrades Fitzgerald, Rodenberger and I attended the 123rd VFW National Convention in Kansas City.

It was my first time attending and it was an interesting experience… We witnessed the national-level parliamentary process, met comrades from all over the country, and attended a couple workshops on fundraising and parliamentary procedures (did you know we’re supposed to say “No” not “Nay”?!). 

We also heard from engaging guest speakers, like Gen. (ret.) Martin Dempsey, Secretary of the VA Denis McDonough, and celebrity and veteran advocate Jon Stewart. My favorite speaker was quadruple amputee, Travis Mills. He brought a wicked sense of humor to his speech – I was laughing one minute and crying the next – and we walked away truly inspired!  Our newly elected Commander-in-Chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Timothy Borland, addressed the audience as the last convention speaker and here are a few juicy quotes I wrote down:

• “Every veteran counts.” 
• “It’s time to pass the torch but remember who is passing the torch.”
• “Recruit, retain and lead from the front.”

Comrade Chief Borland acknowledged that our organization is struggling because the horsepower behind the operations – Vietnam Veterans – are aging. Younger members have busy lives. I met fellow post commanders from Washington who served Post-9/11 and we’re all grappling with the same issue: how do we activate our membership to do more for veterans? I have my own assumptions but I want to hear directly from you! 

You should have received a letter from me in the mail recently or it should be arriving any day now. In it I make a couple small requests from each of our members: to take a short survey and attend at least one event this year. If for some reason you didn’t receive the letter, you can read it here. Please make your voice heard (and hey, you might win a prize for your time!).

I don’t have a fancy motto but one point I’ll continue to hammer home is that if we all pitch in a little, we can fulfill the VFW motto, “No One Does More for Veterans.” Show up and join our Post 3063 team!

In Comradeship,
Alyson Teeter, Commander

By Harold Rodenberger

Welcome to the new VFW year. Please join me in welcoming our new Post officers. For the next twelve months, Commander Alyson Teeter and crew will be sailing our good ship in search of new goals such as standing up our own 501(c)(3) organization and getting our remodel project back on track. Our normal mission of serving veterans and their families will continue and expand. There may be an occasional tempest along the way, but if we all help hoist the sails, trim the sheets, and holystone the decks, we will make good progress.

Our Service Officer, Joseph Mesa, has agreed to serve another year. Joseph is one of the best VSO’s in the state. If you, (or a vet you know) need help filing for veteran’s benefits, please get in touch with Joseph, [email protected] or 206-488-8981.

Junior Past Commander Joe Fitzgerald and I attended the 102nd VFW State Convention in Spokane last month. We learned in classes and participated in elections as the Convention took care of business. One highlight was the award of First Place in Editorial Excellence to our newsletter. Congratulations Aly on a great job as Editor of our Ballad Eagleson Patriot!

Looking to the near future: The shredder truck will come to our parking lot on July 26th sometime between 0900-1400 (9-2). They will update us the day before with a more precise time, so if you want to standby and watch your papers be shredded, call Tuesday morning and I may be able to pin it down more closely. I understand that some of you would like to see the truck come and stay for four hours as we did in the past, but the charge for this new service is less than a third of the other. If you want you can drop off your papers and we will secure them and then watch as they’re shredded.

King County has approved our request for a grant to pay for a mural on the front of our building. It will be exciting to watch our public face upgraded. Watch for further updates on this project.

Next month (8/20/22) is the Third Annual Post Picnic at the Seelig’s place on Lake Serene. Look for more info at the Post, elsewhere in this paper, and on our website.

October 22nd is the date of our Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser. It’s not too early to begin rounding up prizes for this great charity event. Restaurant and other business gift certificates, special gift baskets, and other personalized gifts make enticing raffle/auction prizes. Please do your best to contribute some prizes for our annual effort to raise money for our Post Relief Fund.

Electronics handyperson wanted. We’re in the process of upgrading our post security camera system. If you have expertise in this area, please consider volunteering to help us install a good security system. Contact [email protected] or call 206-972-2135.

Please note: The Post Picnic and Spaghetti Fundraiser will take the place of our social nights in August and October.