Charter Draped for Two Members
We draped the Charter in the June meeting for two members, Jack McCaul and Richard Miller. Both will be missed and we wish the best to the families of these two fine gentlemen.
Post Installs New Officers
District Commander Richie Richter installed the new officers for the year 2011-2012 at the June Post meeting. Elected officers were:
| Commander | Jim Traner | |
| Senior Vice Commander | Fred Apgar | |
| Junior Vice Commander | Ron Clyborne | |
| Quartermaster | Elizabeth Mather | |
| Chaplain | Rock Roth | |
| Judge Advocate | Chuck Siljeg | |
| Surgeon | Al Boyett | |
| 1st Year Trustee | Bob Crawford | |
| 3rd Year Trustee | Les Abel |
Annual Department Convention
Commander Jim Traner attended the annual Department convention held in Yakima, his old home town (although joining the Army provided a quick way out of town). Not a lot of new ground was covered although the Department is moving more and more to communicating solely by email and social networks. I know some of the folks are complaining, but its one more good reason to get the younger folks involved—at least they can retrieve your email for you. Carlos Almeda is the incoming Department Commander and will do a great job. Outgoing DC is Jerry Herker who did a great job of moving the Department forward. Commander in Chief Richard Eubank attended the conference and was the keynote speaker at the banquet on Friday night. His message was simple, if we want to protect veterans’ rights we need to join veterans’ group. The VFW has lost 700,000 members in the last 15 years or so. It’s up to each of us to stop that tide.
Edmonds Night Out
We are again supporting the Edmonds Night Out for kids. We will have a couple of folks manning a table giving out safety brochures and flags to the young folks who will be attending the event at the Frances Anderson Playfield on July 26th from 5PM to 8PM. In addition, we will present the colors at the beginning ceremony. If you would like to participate in the evening, please let the quartermaster know.
Buddy Poppies a Huge Success
Bob Crawford’s crew of volunteers outdid themselves raising slightly over $11,000, a record for the Post. We had raised approximately $9,500 per fundraiser last year and the pessimistic side of my CPA brain budgeted $8,500 for this year. Had we reached the $9,500 amount I would have been ecstatic, but to raise what we did was truly amazing. Of course, Fred Apgar and his crew toasted the rest of us, but every bit helped, including Erv Schmidt’s annual table at the cemetery on Memorial Day where he raised over $300 from the folks attending the services. I want to thank everyone who participated in the event. I know it can be a bit cold, a bit windy, and a bit wet at times, but your service allows us to support the various projects that are important to veterans. And a special thanks goes to Bob Crawford.
July 4th Parade & BBQ
OK folks, the parade is in a few days and I’d like to have as many folks as we can muster to march (walk) in it. For you members who can’t make the meetings due to work schedules, this is a great opportunity to participate and be applauded for doing so. We will form up at 11:30AM at 6th and Main Street. The route is about a mile long, but we have vehicles for those of you who can’t walk.
As usual, the American Legion Post 66, VFW Posts 8870 & 1040, and Vietnam Veterans of America will march together and lead the parade. Afterwards, we will meet back at the American Legion Hall (assuming it is still standing) for a BBQ. All of your family is invited to join us for this event. We will have hot dogs and hamburgers and refreshments of both the soft and not so soft drinks. If you haven’t participated in the past, this is a great way to meet your fellow members. Dress attire —gray or khaki slacks, blue or dark shirt, VFW cover.
The Last Word
I gave up trying to keep the newsletter to three pages (you folks who get it online won’t notice) Our Post is too active in the community and our Post members too involved in various activities to limit their recognition by keeping my page count down. After Memorial Day I thought we would kick back for the summer. Instead, we have so much stuff going on that I finally figured I’d have to pass out a sheet in the meeting listing everything because I knew I would be getting a ton of phone calls and emails asking for dates, times, and addresses. The Post is active in the community and it seems every week when I attend Rotary I get fined a buck for having my picture in the newspaper (no—I will not pay again at our Post meetings). The reason is that Fred Apgar does a great job of getting articles off to the various news outlets. And finally, what can I say about our Buddy Poppy effort led by Bob Crawford; over $11,000 collected by our members. Those funds will all go into the relief fund and be used to assist veterans, active military personnel, and various causes such as Honor Flight, Voice of Democracy and Teacher awards, Boy Scouts, and many others. Thanks for all you do.