News

From the Commander (October 2018)

By Pete Krawitz

 

Did you know that our building is approaching it’s 68th birthday? Did you also know that the last time we pulled a construction permit for our building was 1986? Why is this important? Well, we know that the building likely needs significant repairs in the near future. Tackling those repairs may be a lot more complicated and costly than many of us realize.

 

We’ve been lucky to have our handy quartermaster, Harold Rodenberger, at the helm for so many years, however, some of the inevitable facility issues we will need to address in the future will likely be even beyond his capabilities to solve. So many Seattle building codes and regulations have been introduced and changed since we last pulled permits in 1986. For example, if we do any work in the building that would require a permit, it would likely cause an expensive cascading effect that would force us to bring other aspects of the building up to code. We would soon learn that the expertise and time required to fully understand these implications was well beyond all of our capabilities.

 

In order to better arm our post with the knowledge to make informed decisions now and even 10 years from now, we recruited the assistance of a local design-build team: Schacht Aslani Architects and Heartland Construction. The House committee and the leadership team reviewed a proposal, which was subsequently introduced to the members and approved in August.

 

I believe this will be one of the most important investments that the post has made in many years. The results of this work will provide all of us with critical information that we will be able to use for many years and will hopefully help ensure the long term survival of our post in Ballard.

 

So now what? Over the next few months, representatives from the architect and contractors will be crawling through our building to determine the current state of our facility, researching how new zoning and permitting impacts us, and conducting interviews with a variety of members of the post to better understand how we currently use the space. By early next year, we should have the results of this work and a series of recommendations from these experts.

 

At this stage, we’ve had an initial kick-off meeting with the contractors and will soon be developing the final schedule of interviews and surveys. We will be providing regular updates to the post members via the monthly business meeting and the newsletter.

 

If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to [email protected] or stop by before the next business meeting on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. (the meeting starts at 7 p.m.).

 

Finally, it’s worth noting that the work described above is going to be the primary focus of the leadership team and house committee between now and the end of the year. This doesn’t mean I want to put all other aspects of our work and mission on hold, we just need more volunteers to assist in coordinating post events and activities now more than ever (socials, VA hospital visits, etc.). If you are interested in assisting and/or leading any of those types of events or activities, please bring it up at the next business meeting (remember, you can submit the agenda items online by visiting www.vfwseattle.org) or send me an e-mail at [email protected].

New Member Spotlight: Comrade Leo Potts

This is a recurring column that highlights new VFW Post 3063 members. Comrade Leo Potts joined the post in April 2018.

Comrade Leo Potts
Comrade Leo Potts

 

What motivated you to join the VFW?  I enjoy the camaraderie with other soldiers.

 

What is your military background? Originally enlisted as E–1 and was an infantry soldier, Was talked into joining ROTC and became an officer in 1987. Combat Engineer, got out in 1991, got back in 2000. Deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan, retired in 2015 as a major. There’s more but I don’t want to bore you.

 

Civilian job, education, family, hobbies, or anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?  I’m fully retired and what I do for fun is travel, vacation, help other soldiers get their benefits, and help other people travel and vacation more.

 

What do you hope to achieve being a member of the VFW? I want to be part of a family, military family, and whatever I can do to help the unit I plan on doing that.

Comrades Cavin and Rose Fight Food Insecurity, Teach BLS

By Christopher Dresnek

 

Post 3063 is lucky enough to have a Victory Garden this year thanks to the hard work of Comrades Tiffany Cavin and Anthony Rose.

 

America is at war. Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063 therefore is creating its own Victory Garden behind its post location! Thanks to Comrade Tiffany Cavin for such great initiative and to all those who helped to get this garden going.

A Victory Garden is a meant to enhance national food production during war, and their war is on food insecurity. The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food is what defines food insecurity, and as Comrade Anthony mentioned, it is something his friends and family have dealt with for a long time.

 

In addition to learning about Victory Gardens and food insecurity, Anthony also learned how to finally grow something besides tomatoes.

 

Comrade Tiffany will harvest vegetables before meetings

Fruit of their labor.

and have them available for pick up. She has tomatoes, corn, various squash, greens and many other tasty veggies to try.

 

Feel free to talk with her about her passion project, it has been a labor of love and one with which she hopes to spread the message about food insecurity.

 

Basic Life Saver Course

When Comrade Rose was in the military he was one of his brigade’s BLS (Basic Life Saver) instructors and went on to the same role at Madigan Army Hospital.  After he got out of the service it seemed a natural fit to be able to continue using those skills.

 

He came up with the idea of teaching BLS and making it a fund raiser as a way of giving back to the school who welcomed him so warmly upon his discharge, Seattle Central.  The scholarship is named for Anthony Diaz, the school’s Veteran Certification Official, and has raised more than $2,000 so far.

 

Please contact comrade Comrade Rose at [email protected] to donate to the scholarship or take a future BLS course.

Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser Volunteers’ Hard Work Pays Off

By Alyson M. Teeter

A sampling of the raffle prizes included art, dinner gift certificates, and vacation houses. There was something for everyone as there were more than 60 raffle prizes.

 

 

Many hours of work paid off for VFW Post 3063 volunteers during the VFW Post 3063 Annual Spaghetti Fundraiser and Raffle Sept. 8, 2018. The annual spaghetti fundraiser, which has been held at the post hall for a number of years, brought in $5797.77. 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.

 

The hall was jam packed with comrades,

The Seelig Family cooks and serves dinner at the fundraiser.

family members, and friends due in part to the Seelig family. Two-year Trustee Russ Seelig and his family performed a bulk of the work, from collecting raffle items to cooking the food. Their dedication to executing a phenomenal event was evident in the amount and quality of raffle items, the large turnout, and the taste of the food.

 

 

Many other members helped behind the scenes by collecting or donating

The post hall was full of members, family, and friends enjoying each other’s company while waiting for dinner to be served. Children were welcome at the event and entertained by the post’s toy collection.

raffle items and selling tickets. Robert Kettle narrated and kept the event running smoothly. The Post 3063 Color Guard performed a flawless posting of the colors. Jan Bryson provided front office support before, during, and after the event.

 

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

 

Auxiliary Corner: What’s Membership?

By Donna Limric

 

The auxiliary supports the veterans and our communities so that they may be well. Most civic organizations have an auxiliary of some kind and the VFW is no exception. We raise funds, volunteer our time, and collect goods for organizations that serve our vets, military families and our community at large. For example, we raise money for National Home which is an organization that provides temporary housing for families and children in need. In addition, we volunteer at the VA hospital and send care packages to military posts.

 

The auxiliary promotes and celebrates patriotism through the proper care and retirement of American flags. On Flag Day and Veterans Day we post flags at grave sites of the heroes who have passed on. We offer scholarships to our youth for art, writing and community service that demonstrates what patriotism means. When our membership grows we can do so much more, and more is needed.

 

The VFW Ballard Auxiliary needs members. If you have a spouse, late spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, or child who fought in a battle in a foreign war in the American Armed Forces, you qualify to join the VFW Auxiliary. It costs $50.00 to join but our auxiliary can sponsor you if you are unable to pay the dues. The Auxiliary provides advocacy to our lawmakers on behalf of our veterans and our armed forces to protect and improve benefits for our veterans, armed forces and their families. Members in our ranks means more people who have an interest in veterans and military issues. Finally, more members in our auxiliary means that we have more people to provide all the services our community and veterans need.

 

So, what’s in it for you?  Being in the auxiliary is fun. You get to meet wonderful people who are dedicated to various projects. It is social. Last May I was involved in a group that hosted bingo for VA Hospital patients. We brought sandwiches, snacks, cake and ice cream. The patients got the chance to win vouchers for the hospital canteen. We had a blast! Last Memorial Day the post and auxiliary participated in a poppy drive in front of the QFC. People coming out of the store shared their stories of being a vet, or of the vets in their family. One lady from Britain shared her memories of doing poppy drives with her parents since she was a little girl. The auxiliary also has a scholarship program for members who face cancer that pays for treatment expenses. Your participation in the auxiliary would look great on a resume!

 

So, if you want to belong to a fun group of people who are dedicated to making a difference please consider joining the VFW Auxiliary. We would love to have you.