Event – Page 23 – Ballard Eagleson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3063

Members and friends celebrate the holidays at Post 3063

Post 3063 hosted its annual holiday party during the December social on Dec. 15, 2016.

It was a jovial event for young and old. More than a hundred members, loved ones, and guests attended and dined on free Prime Rib cooked by Marco.

Ann Leake gave gifts to the children as Santa: she has played Santa for the past several years. Annette Russell played holiday music on her keyboard and the Top of the Hill barbershop quartet sang to the crowd. The Top of the Hill quartet hails from the Seattle Seachordsmen, a local barbershop chorus.

Party crowd — Guests fill their plates with Marco’s Prime Rib while the Top of the Hill barbershop quartet entertains the crowd. Approximately 110 people attended the event.

Harold Rodenberger organized the event. Margaret Philips set-up, decorated, and organized the gift giving.

Party entertainment — Ann Leake plays Santa, The Top of the Hill quartet sings, and Annette Russell plays holiday music on her keyboard.

Santa visit — Bob Kettle’s daughter meets Santa for the first time.

Ballard Eighteen becomes Ballard Nineteen

We recently received an email from local writer and Ballard High School graduate, Jerry E. Smith, who is researching and writing a book on the eighteen (now nineteen) students from Ballard High School who were killed in Vietnam. A ceremony to add Doug Zeller to the Vietnam Memorial Plaque is scheduled Nov. 10, 4 p.m. at Ballard High School. The following is an excerpt from that email.

Then Ballard High School student, Doug Zeller.

I contacted Ballard High School Principal Keven Wynkoop and asked him whether there were a list or roster of the Ballard High School students killed in Vietnam. Keven photographed the Vietnam Memorial Plaque which is on display in the school and emailed me the photographs showing the names of the eighteen men whom had been killed. Three of them were boys I had personally known. Thus the “The Ballard Eighteen” began. I spent hours of research at the Ballard High School Library, the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington, online with the Texas Tech University Vietnam Archives, and many other online sites, telephone calls, and emails searching for and contacting family members of the “Eighteen.”

By the beginning of 2016 I thought that I was close to being finished and decided to do a final edit with each of the families of the “Eighteen,” giving them an opportunity to review and fact-check my work. While I was at the home of Tom and Dianne Riordan they said that they thought that student Doug Zeller was killed in Vietnam. I explained that Doug was not listed on the Vietnam Memorial Plaque, so he must have survived. I promised them that I would do some additional research on Doug Zeller and find out what had happened to him.

Unfortunately, I learned that Doug Zeller was indeed killed in Vietnam but not listed on the Ballard High School Vietnam Memorial Plaque. So “The Ballard Eighteen” became “The Ballard Nineteen.”

Shredding truck visits Post 3063

Shredding party

Bill Hoeller, Gail Engler, and Pete Krawitz help shred documents Oct. 2, 2016 during a community shredding event in the post parking lot. During the three hours the truck was there the post shredded about 600 pounds of sensitive documents brought in by post members. The post will plan another shredding event next summer, so save wear and tear on your home shredder and save those old documents, ledgers, and check books for a professional shredding operation. This shredder can handle staples, paper clips, smaller bull clamps, ledger books, and other bulky documents that won’t go through a home shredder.

Post catches up on flag retirements, more scheduled

Bill Hoeller (left) and Harold Rodenberger (right) conducted a flag retirement ceremony Sept. 18, 2016. They honored twenty-seven unserviceable American Flags by properly disposing of them in their portable incineration device. They are now caught up so if you or your neighbors have an unserviceable flag, bring it by the office during regular office hours and they will add it to the collection for the next retirement ceremony.

VFW Virtual Career Fair scheduled Oct. 5

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) are teaming up to host a VFW Virtual Career Fair on October 5, 2016, exclusively for veterans, service members and their spouses, and we need your help in spreading the word!

The Oct. 5 event will run from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. EDT, and provide career-seeking service members, veterans and their spouses the opportunity to connect with job openings being offered by some of the top names in the hospitality industry. The event will feature available opportunities with Ecolab, Hyatt, Sodexo, BJ’s Restaurants and Sysco, all companies with a history of commitment to hiring America’s service members and veterans.

While participants may register at the time of and during the event, participants are strongly encouraged to preregister for the event at http://www.vfwvirtual.com/registration/.

The October 5 hospitality-focused event will seek candidates to fill a myriad of opportunities in the industry, ranging from front of the house and back of the house restaurant positions, to those involving administrative, food services, culinary, facilities management, environmental services, housekeeping, construction, clinical health management and many more. All companies are nationwide and offer an array of opportunities that only large, multi-million dollar corporations can.

Whether you’re currently trying to navigate today’s tough job market, or know someone who is, the upcoming VFW Virtual Career Fair is an excellent opportunity open exclusively for service members, veterans and their spouses. Please share this information with your friends and family, and on social media.

Courtesy of VFW Communications