Past Commander Carl Kurfess represented the post at the VFW District 1 recruiting event during the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival over the weekend of September 9-10.
VFW Post 2100 of Everett provides the logistics for this event and we have participated with them on it for the past few years.
In the photo above, Past District 1 Commander Don Wischman is shown in front of the VFW booth.
VFW Auxiliary: All VFW members are asked to encourage their family members to join our Post Auxiliary. Their function is, in part, to support Post activities such as Poppy distribution, raffle ticket sales etc. Both organizations could use the help.
Gold Star Mothers are collecting used books for JBLM. Members are urged to bring their used books for deposit in a collection bin, which will be located near the entrance of the Legion Hall.
VFW Polo Shirts: For those who ordered the new VFW polo shirts, they are now available. Bring your $21.00 payment to the post meeting to pick up your shirt.
This is your opportunity to help our Post support Veterans in need, by selling raffle tickets to your friends & family. Of course you may wish to win this one-of-a-kind image for your own wall at home!
Raffle tickets will be distributed to the members at the September Post meeting. If you can’t make the meeting contact Commander Duane and we will get tickets to you. We will offer 500 tickets at $ 10.00 each, to raise a total of $5,000.00 for our ongoing Post operations.
Comrade Mike Reagan, is generously making this unique item available for our raffle. (In fact the whole project was Mike’s idea!)
This project needs everyone’s participation
Drawing will be held at the VFW Holiday Party, December 16, 2023. Need not be present to win.
First Prize!
Signed and framed, Original SeaHawks Poster, by our own famed Edmonds artist Michael Reagan!
(USMC Vietnam combat veteran & founder of the “Fallen Heroes” Project.) (Actual frame may differ from that shown)
Over 81.000 Americans remain missing after fighting in the World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and more.
A Department of Defense division known as the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency works to locate, identify and return remains of the missing deceased to their families for burial.
The contest is open to students residing in the Edmonds and Mukilteo School Districts. Students attending private schools or being home-schooled are eligible to enter the contest.
The Youth Essay Program is for students in grades 3-5. It requires an essay, not to exceed 250 words, that should address the topic, “What does the word “veteran” mean to you?” Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three essay winners in each of the three grade levels.
Students in grades 6-8 are eligible to enter the “Patriot’s Pen” program. This requires a 300- to 400-word written essay on the topic, “How are you inspired by America?” Cash prizes are awarded for the first-, second- and third-place winning essays.
“Voice of Democracy,” the third program, is an audio essay contest for students in grade 9-12. To enter, a student must prepare a three- to fiveminute recording that addresses the topic, “What are the greatest attributes of our democracy?” Cash prizes will be awarded to the three entries judged to be the best.
The winning entries in each of the three contests will be forwarded to the VFW District level for further consideration. “Voice of Democracy,” the third program, is an audio essay contest for students in grade 9-12. To enter, a student must prepare a three- to fiveminute recording that addresses the topic, “What are the greatest attributes of our democracy?” Cash prizes will be awarded to the three entries judged to be the best. The winning entries in each of the three contests will be forwarded to the VFW District level for further consideration.
Detailed instructions as well as an entry form that must accompany each submission can be obtained online here. All contest entries, along with the completed entry form, must be submitted to VFW Post 8870 no later than Oct. 31, 2023. Youth Essay and Patriot Pen entries may be submitted online to [email protected] or they can be mailed to VFW Post 8870, P.O. Box 701, Edmonds, WA
Jim Traner, Vietnam combat veteran, Past Edmonds VFW Post 8870 and VFW District1 Commander and an extremely valued member of our Post, as well as the entire VFW Department of Washington, died of a sudden heart attack Saturday, morning while out fishing.
Jim will be greatly missed by our Post and all of us who depended on him for his friendship and to keep us on course financially and organizationally.
There will be two memorial services for Jim.
August 20, 2023 12:00 pm Edmonds Waterfront Center 220 Railroad Avenue Edmonds, WA
August 29, 2023 1:00 pm Tahoma National Cemetery 18600 SE 240th St Kent, WA 98042
At our July Post meeting one of our newer members, retired Army Major Shannon Yates, spoke to us about his experience as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Yates graduated from West Point in 1990 and served in the middle east conflicts on several tours prior to his retirement. He now operates a small business here in Edmonds, located right across the alley from the Legion Hall.
To this old sailor, Yates makes West Point sound a lot like a four year boot camp, with extremely heavy academic loads all four years, along with the added responsibilities in the later years of supervising underclass cadets. From his description, our academy grads from all services receive not just a great education, but a leadership course that is probably not available in the civilian world.
The Minutes from the June Meeting were read and approved. The Quartermaster’s report was reviewed and approved. The following expenditures were approved by the membership. $46.57 for Food$ 31.18 for beverages. The Relief Fund Committee Meeting was scheduled for 07/27/2023 at 5:30PM.
We are scheduled to participate at the Edmonds Community Fair on Sunday, 08/06/2023. The event takes place at the Edmonds/Woodway High School. We can use this as a recruiting event as well as a way to let the public know what we are about and what we do. Dist 1 Commander Terry Stenson District 1 Commander Terry Stenson gave us an update on what is going and what is planned at District.
The next District Meeting@ Post 2100 will be on 08/09/2023.
District 1 will have a Booth at the Evergreen State Fair. Attendance by our Post members will be counted as a recruiting event. The fair runs from 08-24-2023 to 08-29-2023 and from 08-31-2023 to 9-4-2023. We will announce more details at the next meeting.
All members can attend a Everett Aquasox game on 09-09-2023. We will provide more information at the next meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for 08-16-2023.
Members of Edmonds VFW Post 8870 and American Legion Post 66 staffed a recruiting and information booth at the Edmonds Community Fair on Sunday, August 6, 2023. The event was held at the Edmonds-Woodway High School Football Field. We had 5 members staff a booth and handed out flags to children, membership forms to interested Veterans and talked to community members about military service of their family members. There was also a display from the Northwest Veterans Museum (NWVM) in Lynnwood, of uniforms and Military equipment. The event was rather sparsely attended, but we showed the flag and promoted our Post.
Photos from left: Past Commanders Rose Gilliland and Mike Denton man the booth, accompanied by Linda Denton; Past Commander Carl Kurfess on duty and finally a selection of items from the museum provided by Kurfess.
We lost our long time comrade and friend on July 22. Jim died of a sudden heart attack while, of all things, attempting to boat a large salmon. Jim was a 50 year VFW member and a key member of our leadership staff for many years. His organizational and accounting skills will be sorely missed.
From the 11th Armored Cavalry Veterans: (Addressed to Terry Traner & family)
Please accept the condolences of the Troopers of the 11th Armored Cavalry’s veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia. Jim was a dedicated and courageous warrior, and in a crucial time, became one of us, one of our own. He served honorably and faithfully with the Legendary Blackhorse Regiment in the Howitzer Battery of the 1st Squadron from August 1967 thru March 1969. Exhibiting daring and courageous acumen, he was in the fore front, as the regiment completed its mission throughout large areas of Vietnam. James Michael Traner’s name will be published in our newsletter, Thunder Run, acknowledged solemnly during the Memorial Service at our annual reunion, and be enrolled on the scroll with our honored dead. As grateful Americans, we pause and salute a brave man, a recipient of the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry; he proudly honored our regiment. He wore the uniform, was willing to sacrifice, and even put his life on the line for his country, his family and his fellow man. Chaplain Bill Karabinos (11th ACVVC).
VFW Post 8870′ s resident artist, USMC Vietnam vet Mike Reagan has once again made a valuable piece available for a raffle, which we will hold at the Post Holiday party on December 16. The Post and Mike, with his ” Fallen Heroes Project” have worked together in a variety of way over the years. Mike has now exceeded 8,000 portraits of fallen heroes since his “retirement”.
Raffle tickets will be available in September for sale to post members, friends and family at $ 10 each. 500 tickets will be available for a total potential return of$ 5,000 to the post.
Tickets must be sold by individual Post members, in accordance with Washington State law. There is certainly no reason we cannot all promote the raffle on our various social media and we will seek publicity support from our local press.
