Category: Post Business

Quartermaster’s Update (January 2021)

By Harold Rodenberger


Due to the holidays, I wrote this update during the winter equinox, the shortest day of the year. Here in northwestern Washington, there were only about eight hours and twenty-five minutes of daylight. Our typical winter weather of overcast skies made the day seem even darker. Like this short day, most of this past year has seemed dark and dreary. Despite those dark days we carried on with our mission, knowing that the days ahead would be brighter and warmer.


During this past quarter, we continued our business meetings via Zoom. If you haven’t connected on that platform, please join our meeting on January 7th. See Zoom instructions elsewhere in this newsletter and on our website.


Chef Kay and helpers made wonderful dinners for our social nights. The Thanksgiving dinner set a record at 85 dinners prepared, but the Christmas dinner smashed that record with 102 dinners for members and guests. A special thanks to 1SG Britt Anderson, of our adopted unit, who donated three whole tenderloins and to Hope who donated 25 dozen farm-fresh eggs. 


Because of the virus, our hall has been empty, but during December members of Seattle Stand Down assembled and wrapped Christmas presents for needy veterans and their families in our community. Members of the leadership team from our adopted National Guard unit (A Co, 181st BSB) did the same for needy unit members and their families. It was good to see our hall being used for such worthy causes.


It’s been a difficult year for VFW programs, but your post honored students who competed in the VFW Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen programs. Our first-place winners advanced to District level for further competition. We also submitted our entries for Police Officer of the Year and Firefighter of the Year for judging at higher headquarters.


Our Relief Fund contributed funds to the SeaTac USO, Fisher House at the VA Medical Center, members of our post in distress, and to needy personnel in our two adopted National Guard units.


Another hearty “Thank You” to all who assembled poppies. We shipped back to headquarters about 95,000 completed poppies.


As we look forward to the Year of the Ox and brighter times, please join me in applying lessons learned from these dark days by resolving to treasure relationships, show more patience and kindness and further support our fellow veterans and their families.


Happy New Year, 2021!

Our Post Assembles Buddy Poppies Part 2

By Harold Rodenberger

During pre-pandemic times, veterans in soldiers’ homes and VA hospitals would assemble the Buddy Poppies© that we distribute on Memorial Day, Veterans Day and throughout the year.  Donations from recipients of these poppies go to our Relief Fund, where the money is used to support our mission of caring for comrades in distress and other charitable works.


Because of the virus, this year the normal Old Soldiers’ assembly lines became impossible, so our VFW National Commander in Chief asked local post members to assemble poppies.  Our post was one of many who stepped up. We requested 100,000 sets of poppy parts and our volunteers got busy assembling those beautiful poppies.


We’ve worked hard for a little over a month on those poppies and finished about 86,000 of them. Completed poppies will be boxed up and shipped back to our National HQ ready to be shipped out to even more volunteers who will distribute them nationwide when it is safe to do so. 


Many thanks to our members and friends who spent many hours diligently assembling poppies. A special shout out goes to Sue and Jack Westman who assembled over 22,000 sets. It was a tedious, time-consuming job, and we are so grateful for all you hard working volunteers who did your part. 


As for me, I know I’ll never look at a Buddy Poppy© in the same way again.

Our Post Assembles Buddy Poppies

By Harold Rodenberger

During pre-pandemic times, veterans in soldiers’ homes and VA hospitals would assemble the Buddy Poppies© that we distribute on Memorial Day, Veterans Day and throughout the year.  Donations from recipients of these poppies go to our Relief Fund, where the money is used to support our mission of caring for comrades in distress and other charitable works.


Because of the virus, this year the normal veteran assembly lines became impossible so our VFW National Commander in Chief asked local post members to assemble poppies.  Our post was one of many who stepped up. We requested 100,000 sets of poppies parts and our volunteers have been busy for the past two weeks, assembling those beautiful poppies.


As of this writing, about half of the sets have been assembled with the remainder on track to be finished in the next two weeks. Completed poppies will be boxed up and shipped back to our National HQ ready to be shipped out to even more volunteers who will distribute them nationwide when it is safe to do so. 


In next month’s newsletter, I’ll publish a full accounting of the results of this project. Meanwhile, many thanks to our members and friends who have been diligently assembling poppies.  


Volunteer Jack helping assemble poppies.

Small poppy assembly line.

Commander’s Corner (November 2020)

COMRADES! DON’T WAIT FOR THE STORM TO PASS!


I hope as we pass through the turbulent times of the election process and into the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, that you have managed to find or create ways to keep yourselves safe and mentally fresh amid the COVID pandemic.


(It really is the virus from hell that just seems to hang around like every other NFL team’s offense when pitted against the Seahawk’s defense.)


In spite of that, I do believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Social distancing and masks certainly seem to be beneficial and positive controls. But hopefully we will soon have a vaccine in place as well, and several promising remedies for coping with the virus should any of us become infected. They are coming for sure.


But in the meantime, It can be very easy to become lethargic and get caught up with just waiting for the storm to pass. Most of us have never had to deal with anything like this before and it has been a bit of a learning process for sure. So I do hope you all are continuing to remain positive and moving forward with your lives. Embracing the spirit of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons certainly provides us with many positive feelings that can help us immensely to do this. Also, just finding different ways to help others can actually help us!. Dusting off the old project that “I never have time to do!” and so on. These are just a few of many ways to avoid lethargy from settling in.


Remember….”The sun never quits shinning, it’s just that sometimes clouds get in the way”.


As any true Seattleite knows, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…. It’s about learning to dance in the rain!”


Continue to stay safe. 


Our country and the world will survive this pandemic.


Commander Joe Fitzgerald