Category: Post Business
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!
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.
National Convention Wrap-up
By Harold Rodenberger
The Veterans of Foreign Wars held its 120th National Convention in Orlando, Florida this year. Elected representatives from posts and departments attend these national conventions each year and when in session, the convention is the governing body of our organization.
Three members from our post attended this year; Sr Vice Joe Tiffany, representing Commander Pete Krawitz; Jr Vice Joe Fitzgerald and Quartermaster Harold Rodenberger. We participated in the business sessions, attended special classes of interest to post leadership, caucused with other representatives from our state and voted on proposed changes to our VFW Bylaws and Ritual.
In other sessions, awards are presented to special dignitaries, winners of the VFW Youth programs such as Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy are presented with their scholarship checks, All-American Commanders are given their awards and various speakers pass their wisdom to our eager ears. This year Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, updated the convention on news of interest from their departments.
To wrap up the convention on Wednesday, we elected and installed national officers for the ensuing year. It is always a busy four days and necessary for the continued functioning of our organization.
Quartermaster’s Update (July 2019)
By Harold Rodenberger
Welcome to our new VFW year. Last year was a busy and productive one with the building remodel (detailed elsewhere in this paper) high on our priority list. We are moving into the new year with enthusiasm, determined to keep this project high in our sights as we as a post, narrow down the alternatives and arrive at a decision that will benefit the VFW, other veterans organizations, our community and, most of all, our members, present and future.
Congratulations to our new officers who were installed May 2 at the business meeting and took office last week, after our Washington State Commander was installed. I am confident they will continue the fine work of their predecessors and continue to lead the post toward our goals.
When I think back over the 2018-19 year, several things deserve special mention. Again this year, thanks to all who brought in new members, we achieved 100 percent membership. This time reaching that 100% mark by December 31st thus setting a new record for our post.
Our Post 3063 Auxiliary is enjoying a revival. President Donna is supported by a good slate of officers but they are still looking for active additions to their rolls so if you have qualified family members, please encourage them to join our auxiliary.
Our outgoing service officer, Leo Potts, raised money to take a group of veterans to Washington, D.C. to tour the military monuments and take a cruise on the Potomac River. Since he and Suzanne are moving to Spain in the fall, he has been helping our incoming service officer, Joseph Mesa, learn the ropes and continue to provide the same outstanding service to our members and other veterans that Leo, and before him, Gail Engler, have provided.
Our Post 3063 Honor/Color Guard participated in many ceremonies, including a graveside service for our 106-year old WWII member, Joe Small, when we braved a snowstorm to render proper honors to our departed comrade.
Remember the picnic scheduled for August at the Seelig’s place on Lake Serene. It promises to be a good time for all. Hamburgers, hot dogs and soft drinks furnished, bring anything else you want to eat or drink.
Happy Fourth of July! Remember, the business meeting in July is postponed from the 4th to the 11th.
Finally, THANK YOU for being a member of our post! It is only through your continued membership that we can support veterans’ goals at all levels, from local to national.