Category: Post Business

New Member Spotlight: Cole Russell

This is a recurring column that highlights new VFW Post 3063 members. Comrade Cole Russell joined the post in May 2019.

 

What motivated you to join the VFW?

Giving back to the local community while also working with a respected national organization.  It’s essentially the best of both worlds and enables its members to have an impact in both realms.  That and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow veterans of different backgrounds and generations.

 

What is your military background?

– University of Portland ROTC 2002-2007

– 12 years Active Duty USAF, Flight Test Engineer, 2007-2019, stationed in Eglin AFB, FL; Nellis AFB, NV; Edwards AFB, CA, and McChord AFB, WA.

– Washington Air National Guard, 194th Wing at Camp Murray, Cyber Officer, 2019+

 

Civilian job, education, family, hobbies, or anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?

Civilian job: Amazon Web Services MVP Team supporting Government Contracts

Family: Mom and Dad in Bellevue, Wife (Carmin), Dog (Theo), Cat (Mr. Bigglesworth)

Hobbies: Mountain climbing (did Baker earlier this year, Rainier last year, Mt. Kilimanjaro the year before), Snowboarding, Crossfit, Yoga, and local breweries.

 

What do you hope to achieve being a member of the VFW?

I hope to use the skills I have learned in the military, my current position in the ANG, and Amazon Warriors (internal military group), to facilitate as much local outreach and veteran support as possible in the Seattle community.

From the Commander (October 2019)

Comrades,

 

Since becoming Commander, we have had a busy start to the “VFW year.”

 

Our time has been occupied by the  Department (State) Convention in Vancouver, WA, the National Convention in Orlando, Florida, District Two (our district) meetings, and last but not least, the amazing fifth annual Spaghetti Fundraiser co-chaired by Russ and Kay Seelig.

 

The conventions are an amazing way to learn about the VFW and what we do, and the district meetings keep us in the loop on what is happening locally.

 

This year, like years in the past, the Spaghetti Dinner was amazing and I am so thankful to Russ, Kay and their crew for putting on this great event!

 

What I have learned so far is the amount of time our fellow comrades spend to pull all these events together and make our post look good. We, by definition are an organization of volunteerism and we are doing good, however there is always room to improve!

 

My goal is to get more people involved in volunteering and planning fundraisers and fun events to make our VFW one we can all be proud of. If you have ideas or want to jump in and volunteer, please reach out to me or any of our leadership for opportunities.

 

Commander Joe Tiffany

 

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill

 

Annual Fundraiser Yet Again an Outstanding Success

By Alyson Teeter

 

VFW Post 3063 hosted its Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser and Raffle Sept. 14, 2019. The annual tradition, which has been held at the post hall for a number of years, brought in $6,264.20: an increase of nearly $500 from 2018!

Raffle
The post hall was full of family and friends enjoying each other’s company.

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.

 

As in past years, the hall was jam packed with comrades, family members, and friends due in large part to the Seelig family. Comrade Russ Seelig, Chef Kay Seelig, and their family performed a bulk of the work, from organizing the raffle to cooking the food. Their dedication was obvious by looking at the quality of raffle items, the large turnout, the taste of the food, and the comradery felt by all.

 

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

Fundraiser update

By Russ Seelig

 

We are exactly 2 weeks from the Spaghetti Feed and Raffle and I wanted to give you all a quick update on where we are prior to our final meeting.  We currently have about 35 raffle prizes in hand with additional promised.  My experience has been that not all that are promised materialize and some that we never hear about beforehand show up at the event.  Nevertheless we are running behind where we have been in the past few years both in quantity and dollar value.

 

Our goal is to raise about $5,000 to add to our charitable contributions budget.  We make a profit of about $10/ticket, and if we sell the 150 tickets we normally sell that is a profit of about $1,500, leaving $3,500 to secure from the about 125 participants we have had in the past, or about $30 per person.  In other words we need additional quality prizes that we hope people will want to put numerous tickets in.  I do not know how many tickets have been sold to date, but I have distributed about 100 and an unknown number have been sold via the internet.

 

​The following is a condensed list of the prizes we currently have:
Restaurant Gift Certificates:  Alcove Dining Room, Olive and the Grape, Dick’s Drive-In, Uli’s Famous Sausage, Ballard Mandarin
Admission Tickets:  Mariners, Ride the Ducks, Everett Aquasox, Argosy Cruises, MoPop, Museum of Flight
Other larger ticket items:  Artwork, Instant Pot, Handmade Afghan, Tattoos, Salmon Fishing Trip, MacDonald’s Happy Meal display
Other items:  Interesting items that are hard to categorize.

 

Please come to the meeting with the proceeds from the tickets you have sold.  If you haven’t sold any please call your friends and neighbors and give them a chance to come and have some fun.  Please bring any raffle prizes you have gotten.  Contact me at 206-423-1150 if you have any questions.