Ballard Eagleson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3063
"No One Does More for Veterans"
Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063’s August newsletter is available for download here. Highlights of August’s issue include:
By Harold Rodenberger
Last year was a good one for our post. We passed one hundred per cent membership in early January and ended the year at 107.81 per cent of our calculated membership for the previous year.
Our post shared in a special honor when our outgoing commander, Aaron Stoltz, was selected as an All State Commander. The white hat that goes with this honor is the first won by any commander or quartermaster of our post during the thirty-five years I have been a member. Congratulations Commander Stoltz!
In addition to those mentioned in last month’s column, other milestones marking the past year:
Not to rest on our laurels, we look forward to even more activity:
In addition to these plans, we will see more fund raisers and other special dinners this year as we raise awareness among our members and in our neighborhood that we are a growing post involved in doing good for veterans and our community.
By Gail Engler
Harold Rosenberger, James Williams, Gail Engler, and Jesse Basher attended the State VFW Convention in Pasco, June 22 to 25.
A day before the conference started additional training was offered for post veteran service officers and quartermasters. I attended the all day VSO training which was conducted by Nadine Warren, accredited VSO in Yakima, WA. The training was very good and I hope to become more knowledgeable and receive additional training in order to provide services for our post members and anyone who may contact our post for assistance in filing claims or obtaining benefits. I am not an accredited VSO so will not actually submit the claim myself but assist with completing forms, and providing resources and referrals.
As far as the state election there were two positions that were contested: surgeon and quartermaster. Traci Williams was elected surgeon and Carlos Almeda was elected quartermaster. Post 3063 received a number of awards including second place for our newsletter. Thanks to Charlie Anderson for his hard work and expertise in publishing a great newsletter. Aaron Stoltz received a “white hat” as commander for meeting a number of criteria for the post. Harold should have received a white hat as quartermaster but there was an administrative error at department level so he and others in District 2 did not receive the recognition. Congratulations to all for our post and individual awards. It was overall a well organized and interesting convention. I recommend that other post members attend in the future and get involved to support and improve our post.
By Harold Rodenberger
On the Fourth of July several members of our post visited the VA Hospital located on Beacon Hill here in Seattle. We took drinks and snacks and passed them out to the patients and staff. Some who were on restricted diets only took a can of diet soda but others had their choice of various goodies. The favorites seemed to be Slim Jims and fruit drinks.
More important than the goodies were the pleasant words and good wishes we passed along to the patients. We also thanked the staff members for working on the holiday when most other folks were celebrating the birthday of our country.
We noticed many empty beds this visit and found out that as many patients as possible are given a pass over the holiday to visit their families so they have a short break from their hospitalization. After the holiday they will be back in their beds for continuation of their treatments.
Those of us who visit the hospital or the various retirement and nursing homes always find it to be a rewarding experience. If you would like to join us on future visits send us an email, contact us via our website or call the office at 206-782-8618.
By Harold Rodenberger
At our last business meeting held July 7th our post and members were presented with many awards. “I don’t remember the Post ever receiving so many awards,” said Commander Nestor Tamayao.
Our outgoing commander, Aaron Stoltz, was awarded a Department of Washington White Hat for his selection as a member of the All-State Team. (The All-State Team is composed of commanders who have satisfied all the requirements for their year as delineated by state headquarters.) It’s an honor achieved by few commanders and was a just reward for his final year of eight as our Ballard Eagleson Post Commander.
Other awards included: