Category: Community Outreach

Comrades Cavin and Rose Fight Food Insecurity, Teach BLS

By Christopher Dresnek

 

Post 3063 is lucky enough to have a Victory Garden this year thanks to the hard work of Comrades Tiffany Cavin and Anthony Rose.

 

America is at war. Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063 therefore is creating its own Victory Garden behind its post location! Thanks to Comrade Tiffany Cavin for such great initiative and to all those who helped to get this garden going.

A Victory Garden is a meant to enhance national food production during war, and their war is on food insecurity. The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food is what defines food insecurity, and as Comrade Anthony mentioned, it is something his friends and family have dealt with for a long time.

 

In addition to learning about Victory Gardens and food insecurity, Anthony also learned how to finally grow something besides tomatoes.

 

Comrade Tiffany will harvest vegetables before meetings

Fruit of their labor.

and have them available for pick up. She has tomatoes, corn, various squash, greens and many other tasty veggies to try.

 

Feel free to talk with her about her passion project, it has been a labor of love and one with which she hopes to spread the message about food insecurity.

 

Basic Life Saver Course

When Comrade Rose was in the military he was one of his brigade’s BLS (Basic Life Saver) instructors and went on to the same role at Madigan Army Hospital.  After he got out of the service it seemed a natural fit to be able to continue using those skills.

 

He came up with the idea of teaching BLS and making it a fund raiser as a way of giving back to the school who welcomed him so warmly upon his discharge, Seattle Central.  The scholarship is named for Anthony Diaz, the school’s Veteran Certification Official, and has raised more than $2,000 so far.

 

Please contact comrade Comrade Rose at [email protected] to donate to the scholarship or take a future BLS course.

Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser Volunteers’ Hard Work Pays Off

By Alyson M. Teeter

A sampling of the raffle prizes included art, dinner gift certificates, and vacation houses. There was something for everyone as there were more than 60 raffle prizes.

 

 

Many hours of work paid off for VFW Post 3063 volunteers during the VFW Post 3063 Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser and Raffle Sept. 8, 2018. The annual spaghetti fundraiser, which has been held at the post hall for a number of years, brought in $5797.77. The net proceeds will be deposited in the Post Relief Fund, which benefits a variety of causes, from local veterans in need — including those at the Seattle VA hospital — to the VFW’s National Home for Children.

 

The hall was jam packed with comrades,

The Seelig Family cooks and serves dinner at the fundraiser.

family members, and friends due in part to the Seelig family. Two-year Trustee Russ Seelig and his family performed a bulk of the work, from collecting raffle items to cooking the food. Their dedication to executing a phenomenal event was evident in the amount and quality of raffle items, the large turnout, and the taste of the food.

 

 

Many other members helped behind the scenes by collecting or donating

The post hall was full of members, family, and friends enjoying each other’s company while waiting for dinner to be served. Children were welcome at the event and entertained by the post’s toy collection.

raffle items and selling tickets. Robert Kettle narrated and kept the event running smoothly. The Post 3063 Color Guard performed a flawless posting of the colors. Jan Bryson provided front office support before, during, and after the event.

 

Thank you to all who attended and come again next year!

 

Post and Boy Scouts Team Up to Retire Flags

Comrade Dan Stokke, with assistance from Boy Scout Troop 80 out of Magnolia, retire flags using the post’s portable incineration device.

Comrade Dan Stokke, with assistance from Boy Scout Troop 80 out of Magnolia, conducted a flag retirement ceremony in the post parking lot July 21, 2018. They honored unserviceable American Flags by properly disposing of them in the post’s portable incineration device. If you or your neighbors have an unserviceable flag, bring it by the office during regular office hours and we will add it to the collection for the next retirement ceremony.

 

 

Comrades Dan Stokke (left), Gail Engler and Pete Krawitz (right) pose with Boy Scout Troop 80 during the flag retirement. Comrade Elizabeth Servey helps lead the troop and is pictured in the back row.

Post Commander Presents Award to AFROTC Cadet

Post 3063 Commander Pete Krawitz presented the VFW Award to University of Washington Air Force ROTC Detachment 910 Sophomore Cadet Ryan Lowery during the UW ROTC Joint Service Award Ceremony May 24, 2018. Cadet Lowery was recognized for his active engagement in AFROTC and his leadership traits. He’s the son of a retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant and hopes to become an intelligence officer once he receives his commission.

 

Post Commander Krawitz presents award to Cadet Lowery.
Post Commander Krawitz presents award to Cadet Lowery.

 

Post 3063 Adjutant Alyson Teeter (2002 Det 910 Alumnus) and Commander Pete Krawitz pose with Cadet Ryan Lowery.
Post 3063 Adjutant Alyson Teeter (2002 Det 910 Alumnus) and Commander Pete Krawitz pose with Cadet Ryan Lowery.

Auxiliary President Recognizes District, State Officers

By Donna Limric

 

The members of the Post 3063 Auxiliary are working hard to rebuild our organization.  Our goal is to become strong and active. We now have a business license for the auxiliary, so we are recognized by the state! Thank you to our treasurer Liz Guncay for all your hard work!

 

I would like to recognize the help from auxiliary members outside our post. First a huge thank you to District 2 Auxiliary President Lois Mezek. Louis has been to every meeting, and there by phone and e-mail with whatever we need. She has been guiding us every step of the way. The following individuals have also been of great help: State Jr. Vice President Kathi Naff, State Conductress Barbara Moore, and State President Laurie Lukas.  Finally, the post itself has been enthusiastically encouraging us while affording us the space to get back on our feet.

 

Our auxiliary’s first event will be a book sale on May 5–6. The hours will be announced very soon.  We will have fliers and post the hours on our Facebook page. This will be the same weekend as the grand opening weekend of the Nordic Museum.  Please come down and explore what we have to offer.  The proceeds from the book sale will benefit the Heroes in the Ballpark fund.