At the April Post meeting, our Freedom Scholarship winners attended with members of their families and each read her essay for the assembled membership. (Both essays were published in last month’s newsletter.)
The photo below at left shows Christiana Burkhalter of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo reading her essay and at right, Hazel Warner of Meadowdale High School, appears holding her certificate of award. Congratulations once again to both of these young women!
The Post meeting of May 18 will be preceded by a dinner at 5pm, featuring lasagna!
The meeting will start at 6pm as usual. We will have our Freedom scholarship winners present to be recognized and the business meeting to follow will feature the annual installation of post officers for the coming 2022-23 VFW Year. Memorial Day observance plans will also be on the agenda.
No speaker having been scheduled for the March meeting, Commander Kurfess went straight to our business meeting. Aside from the usual officers reports, during which everything was reported to be in order, considerable time was devoted to planning for Buddy Poppy distribution for Memorial Day, as well as our participation in the Memorial Day observance at the cemetery (we are also planning a brief event at the Veterans Plaza, after the Cemetery ceremonies) We also briefly discussed logistics for resuming our participation in the “Edmonds Kind of 4th” celebration.
We were pleasantly surprised to find Past Commander Fred Apgar attending in person and as you can see from the photo, Fred was kind enough to fill the Jr Vice Commander Chair for Past Commander Rose Gilliland who was unable to attend.
Despite living now in Savannah, GA, Fred frequently attends our Post meetings via Zoom, regularly contributes book reviews of interest to this newsletter and in many ways is a more active member than some local residents.
As we continue moving through the Covid nightmare of 2020, another virtual post meeting was held on August 20. Fifteen members of our Post attended via the “Zoom” online platform. Joshua Schreck, Dept. Chief of Staff and State Parliamentarian, of Renton Post 1263, visited from Department HQ.
If you have yet to log on for our Zoom based Post meeting, please try to join us for September. Access can be had via the Zoom link sent out by Jim Traner via email. If you experience technical issues, call or email Jim or your Commander (or your editor for that matter) and we will do our best to help you get on. We hope to see more of you for September. Most any desktop computer, iPad or smart phone with an internet connection is capable of accessing the software.
Since we began the Zoom connection, broadcasting our meetings on line, Past Commander Fred Apgar has been one of our members notable for his regular attendance.
Among other items of business, efforts to get the word out on the 2020-21 Essay contests and Voice of Democracy were discussed, as well as Teacher of the Year and Safety awards. The pandemic is making those programs particularly challenging this year.
You will finds plans for fund raising and membership drives discussed elsewhere in this newsletter.
Post Surgeon Jay Hansen summarized members’ activities in veteran and public service for the month of July. Some of us, particularly members who are part of the Honor Guard and, as always, resident sketch artist Mike Reagan continue to be active.
Virtual meetings will continue until health authorities allow gatherings of more than 25 members and until our members feel comfortable with meeting in person. Your command staff has been making this decision month to month, watching developments and keeping in mind the average age and vulnerability of our membership.
It was a busy, if efficient December Post meeting, with a fascinating speaker in the person of Col. Bill Reeder and presentations as shown below, following which a sizable contingent retired to the Edmonds City Council Meeting in support of the Edmonds Veterans Plaza vote, details of which are covered on another post. We should all be very proud of our active and dedicated membership.
Representatives of VFW (Terry Crabtree) and American Legion (Jim Collins) present checks to Mike Reagan to support Mike’s Fallen Heroes Project. Mike has drawn portraits of well over 4,000 of our fallen comrades to date.
Sarah Browne presented a check from Spaulding Ski Bus in memory of Jim Harkness. Jim’s wife Dorothy has long been part of the ski bus project and the Post long a beneficiary.
Our December Speaker, Bill Reeder, author of Through the Valley, in which he related his experience as a POW held captive in jungle prison camps as well as the “Plantation” and the “Hanoi Hilton”. At left, Bill receives a drawing of his Cobra attack helicopter from our resident artist, Mike Reagan.
Mike Reagan presented a portrait of Ken Hicks to his daughter, Melissa Hicks at the December Post Staff Meeting. Ken, a Vietnam Veteran, passed away in July. (Ken and your editor were inducted into the post at the same meeting)
