Commentary

By Harold Rodenberger

It has been a tough three months since my last column. Many of our members and their families are in the highest risk groups, so they have had to stay close to home and isolate themselves as much as possible. To keep our post functioning we have been conducting our business meetings via Zoom. The attendance has been better than expected and we have been able to fulfill our mission in unexpected ways.

To reach out to our members, Service Officer Joseph Mesa is calling people on a rotating basis. Most days, I’m available to answer your phone calls. IF YOU NEED HELP OR JUST NEED SOMEONE TO LISTEN, PLEASE CALL ME at 206-972-2135 ANYTIME AND I WILL LISTEN AND TRY TO HELP.

Because of the virus, we’ve cancelled our traditional spaghetti fundraiser but are planning a different major fundraiser to be held in its place. Mark the date, September 12th. Further details to follow.

Our social night dinners also have changed due to the lockdown. Members pick up their meals and we deliver to those who can’t make it to the post. Chef Kay Seelig and other volunteers have been doing a great job with the dinners. Volunteer drivers have been delivering to those at home. Many thanks to the volunteers who make this happen!  Email will bring information on this month’s special dinner. Make sure you have a reservation by responding to the email or calling 206-972-2135. Because of the virus, reservations are required.

Ace Hardware has teamed up with the VFW and donated American Flags for the use of our members. If you would like to have some of these flags for patriotic purposes, please call so we can coordinate a time for you to pick them up.

This month marks the start of the new VFW year. Our new officers have been installed and are ready to keep our post alive and well during this unusual time. Every year, I mention the importance of membership because every year we lose members for various reasons. This is the time to look around and ask someone to join our post. A growing post depends on growing membership. Please help by finding new members to replace those who transfer out, go to their just reward or for other reasons fall off our rolls.

Please remember that our VFW is an equal opportunity organization. The requirements for membership are: any US citizen or National who has served in a designated combat area and an honorable discharge. There is no qualification based on race, ethnicity, sex, age, national origin, or any other factor. 

By Harold Rodenberger

 

Comrades,

 

December is the end of a year, but this year also marks the end of a decade. Turning this corner reminded me of the end of decades past. For people my age these are vivid memories. For young people, they are history.

 

At the end of 2009, we saw 17,00 more troops sent to Afghanistan, the end of the Great Recession and the death of Michael Jackson.

 

Twenty years ago, at the turn of the century there was the Y2K scare, the beginning of the euro and a U.S. President impeached. Thirty years ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall was the big news.

 

In 1979 there was the big gas shortage, the Hood Canal floating bridge that didn’t, and the Seattle Supersonics winning the NBA Championship. 1969 was the year of the first moon landing and “…One giant leap for mankind”.

 

Sixty years ago, in 1959, I joined the Army and started on the path that led to Ballard Eagleson Post. The winter of ‘49-’50 resulted in many low temperature records still on the books.

 

The years pass quickly and can only be lived once. We need to remember to make the most of our time as the years flit by.

 

Speaking of, members of our post have been busy doing things for others to help our post fulfil its mission. We don’t have a canteen or clubroom so we do things for our community and fellow veterans instead.

 

Recently we visited and revisited the VA Hospital to talk with patients and distribute special snacks and drinks. Our Honor Guard was central to the recent celebration of Wreaths Around America at Lake View Cemetery. Some of our members served at the Seattle Standdown. We selected winners and gave prizes in the VFW Youth Programs Voice of Democracy, Patriot’s Pen and Youth Essay contests. Our Teacher of the Year was also selected as the winner at District 2 and now goes to the judging at the state level.

 

Our roving ambassador, Allen Schwerer, who now lives in Eastern Washington, donates time and money to VFW causes in that area. One of our local members spoke at a meeting of the Mercer Girls Chapter of the DAR during a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans.

 

Around the Post Home, our Commander, Joe Tiffany, volunteered to procure and install a new (much superior) sound system. Other officers gave of their time to perform their duties during meetings and outside the post. Many members fly the flag to honor our country and its veterans.

 

Looking forward to the second half of our VFW year, we are still well short of our membership goal. We value your membership, please take a minute to make sure your dues are current.

 

Welcome to the new “roaring twenties” and may the coming year be kind to you and yours.

 

Yours in Comradeship,

Harold

By Harold Rodenberger

 

The Autumn equinox was a few days ago on September 23rd. The days are getting shorter and school kids have returned to their classes. Please drive carefully, especially around our schools with their precious, but sometimes preoccupied or inattentive, children.

 

Our Service Officer, Joseph Mesa, had to return to California to handle some urgent family affairs so has been dealing by telephone and mail with veterans seeking help with their claims. When ready, the veteran brings them in and we fax them to our Department VSO for review and transmittal to the VA. Being involved with this process has reminded me of the importance of all eligible veterans going to the VA Hospital to get their names and medical conditions on the Agent Orange or Burn Pit Registries.

 

Speaking of the VA Hospital, in another month we will be making our Veterans Day visit to the patients. If you have old copies of magazines from the VFW, or other veterans organizations, please bring them to the office so our ambassadors of goodwill can take them to pass out to interested patients.

 

Our new VFW year started in July. As happens every year, we lost members due to deaths, lapses in membership and other causes. Our state headquarters has offered a substantial monetary prize if we can reach 100% membership by December 31st. Please look for potential new members; they plus renewals are the lifeblood of our organization. The VFW National Headquarters doesn’t count annual members until they pay their dues. If your membership lapses this year, or before July 1st next year, please consider paying your dues before December 20th so we have a chance to win the membership prize. Some people think that if they renew early they might lose the time between then and their regular renewal day. Not to worry, your membership year will remain the same, it just helps us get to that magic number sooner. Thank you for helping us win.

 

Two raffle prizes came in after the fund raiser. At the social on October 17th we will raffle off an autographed Seahawks football and eight rounds of mini-golf at InterBay golf course. Please attend the social for a chance to win.

 

If you are interested in passing out poppies or helping during our visit to the VA Hospital on Veterans Day, please let Commander Fitzgerald, 206-619-9521, or myself (206-972-2135) know so we can get you on the schedule.

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

 

By Pete Krawitz

 

This will be the last column I write as Post Commander. I first wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all once more for giving me the opportunity to lead the post for the last two years. It’s been a very fulfilling and challenging experience. I appreciate the willingness of many of the post members to try some new things, like modified meeting formats and leveraging more technology in our operations. Now, it’s time to hand off the gavel to Joe Tiffany, who I’m confident will bring a fresh perspective to the podium. I look forward to supporting Joe and the new leadership team.

 

Over the last 24 months, we’ve been able to work together to become the largest post in the Seattle District. We’ve built stronger ties with other VSOs, community groups, and local businesses. We are also slowly working on improving our business continuity practices and leveraging technology which will help make running the post more accessible for our current and future officers.

 

We have some exciting projects on the horizon and we’ll need all of the help we can get. Whether you’ve been a member of the post for 40 years or 4 months, there are various post officer positions and committees that could use your expertise. Talk to members of the leadership team if you are interested in helping out in any capacity.

 

While I have moved a bit further away, I still plan to stick with post 3063 for the foreseeable future, the community that welcomed me and my family to Ballard 5 years ago. It’s a community that I’m very proud to be a part of.