News

Commander’s Corner (July 2025)

Thank you for choosing me as your leader. We are a post looking to carve a path. Comrade Teeter has expanded our profile by fostering greater community engagement and finding ways to serve the needs of our members. Retention and Mission are areas where she excelled and made demonstrable progress. I will continue to prioritize these areas. 

Over the next six months, we will seek to maintain our vessel.  As we approach calendar year 2026, I fully expect us to work together positively to secure the future of our post for the next 50-100 years. This includes land and existence. How we achieve this is up to us. By 2027, we should finalize our options. By 2028, we should have secured the posture of our post for the next several decades, barring some sea change. This will be daunting. 

We all have very full lives and many obligations. I hope we can all agree to, at a minimum, set aside two to six hours per month to invest in our post. We are veterans who have chosen to continue serving. Let’s continue the mission, together.

In comradeship,
Harold “H2” Hamilton
Commander

Memorial Stadium groundbreaking

Comrades Bob Kettle and Aly Teeter attended the groundbreaking for the Memorial Stadium and Wall project at Seattle Center June 26. Comrade Kettle also serves as a Seattle City Councilmember and has fought for the proper treatment of the Memorial Wall since 2022. Due in part to the advocacy of Post 3063, the Memorial Wall has achieved Landmark status with the City of Seattle and will be renovated while the stadium is rebuilt. We look forward to attending the ribbon cutting for the renovated Wall and Stadium in 2027!

New VA intern welcome

My name is Ivanna Manlapaz, and I am a proud Navy veteran. Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of supporting veterans at the Everett Veteran Center through the VA Work-Study program. I am excited to continue this mission at VFW Post 3063. I am currently pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice, motivated by a strong desire to ensure that veterans receive the care, respect, and recognition they deserve. I look forward to collaborating with the team at VFW Post 3063 and making a meaningful contribution to our veteran community.

Best regards,
Ivanna Manlapaz

Commander’s Corner: June 2025

As I write my final newsletter commentary as Commander of Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063, I find myself both grateful and hopeful. Thanks to the work of the UW Foster MBA team, I believe we’re standing at the edge of a turning point.

Over the past quarter, this group of six veteran MBA candidates worked closely with our Post to understand what’s working, what’s not, and where we can go from here. Their findings confirmed what many of us have felt: the Post has heart, history, and potential, but without deliberate action, we risk stagnation and failure.

Now is the time to seize the moment.

The recommendations we received weren’t abstract theory. They were grounded in the voices of our members: young and old, new and longtime. They told us we need to modernize our outreach, reimagine our events, and foster a stronger leadership pipeline. Most of all, they reminded us that we cannot wait for “someone else” to do the work. That someone is each of us.

We need members to step up. That doesn’t mean signing up for full-time roles or burning yourself out. It means saying yes…yes to helping organize a single event, yes to mentoring a new member, yes to attending a meeting, or simply bringing a friend. Small actions build momentum, and momentum builds community.

As I pass the torch to Comrade Harold Hamilton, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve done and with great expectations for what’s ahead. Our Post doesn’t need to be what it was in 1965 or 1985. It needs to be what our members and community need it to be today.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve. I look forward to standing alongside you in the next chapter, not as your Commander, but as your comrade.

In comradeship,
Commander Alyson Teeter