THE WILD WESTER V F W OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF M/A WILD WEST VFW POST 91 & AUXILIARY INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Hail & 2 Farewell Events 2 Calendar ADA Walk 2 Auxiliary 3 News Auxiliary 3 Events Summer 4 Event Photos 2000 SOUTH UNION AVE TACOMA, WA 98405-1024 P O S T 9 1 S E P T E M B E R & O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 Commander’s Comments Comrades and Sisters, Happy Labor Day! I hope everyone is enjoying a very well deserved three-day weekend. This summer has been an exceptionally busy one for me, so I welcomed the long weekend to take a few days of R&R before the busy holiday season kicks in. On June 21st, several post members participated in the Veterans Resource Fair held at the Tacoma Dome. This event served as a venue to showcase multiple organizations that offer free services to veterans in the Puget Sound area. A special thanks goes out to Comrades Bobby Clements, Ross Walker, Sister Sara Walker and Junior Girl Rose Walker for taking the time from their very busy schedules to man the booth at this event. From July 19th until the 23rd, Comrades Corky Berthiaume, Elmer Clark, Antwaine Dowdy, Joe Leister, and myself all made the trek to St Louis, MO to attend the 115th VFW National Convention along with over 10,000 other veterans and auxiliary members from around the world. This was a very informative event, with dozens of booths to visit and seminars to attend. We had the honor to witness Vice President Joe Biden address the attendees at the joint session as well as listen to speeches given by acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson and Senators Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill. The highlight of the entire event was a Military Salute Parade held on the 22nd followed by a Patriotic Celebration hosted by Budweiser at Soldiers Memorial Park. The next National Convention will be held in Pittsburg, PA from 18 to 22 July 2015. All post and auxiliary members, whether you hold a position or not, are welcome to attend. credited Service Officers/ Claims Consultants employed by the Department of Washington Veterans of Foreign Wars are members of VFW Post 91? Well, four out of five of us were flown to Annapolis, MD to attend mandatory training put on by the National Veterans Service department from August 17th until the 22nd. This course was very intense, utilizing CFR 38, a manual with over 2,200 pages, as our text book. Sara Walker and I were in the Phase I course while Comrades Bobby Clements and Ross Walker were in the advance courses. The focus of these courses was to learn the federal laws, rules and regulations as they pertain to veteran’s benefits in order to help us better serve our clients. On August 27th, Chaplain Teresa Faulconer and I manned a booth at the Boots2Work Job Fair at Cheney Stadium. This is the second year this event has taken place at this locaDid you know that approxi- tion and the second time mately a third of the acPost 91 has participated. Continued on page 2... PAGE THE 2 ...Continued from page 1 Seeing that the VFW is not hiring, our booth was strictly informational and we took the opportunity to explain what benefits the VFW had to offer to our newly retiring service members, to include claims assistance, scholarships, and financial assistance via grants through the Unmet Needs program. During this event, we managed to recruit several members to our post and take three claims for VA compensation. Our next post meeting will be held on Monday, September 8th at 7:00 p.m. Don’t forget to join us at 6:00 p.m. for a potluck dinner served by the Ladies Auxiliary. Yours in Service, Michelle Love Post Commander (253)759-6995 [email protected] WILD WESTER Hail & Farewell Welcome to Elmer Bechtold, who transferred in from Post 3617; Penny Easterling, who transferred from Post 8220; Melandro Gile, a former Member at Large; and Odan Penilton, our newest Life Member. Also, congratulations to Robert and Linda Dunn who got married on 12 July 2014! If you know of any Comrade, Sister or family member that has passed away or is sick or in distress, please contact the Post Chaplain, Comrade Teresa Faulconer at (253) 961-9640. This is a reminder about the 2014 American Diabetes Walk at Point Defiance Park. The date of the Walk is Saturday, Oct. 11th. Starting time is 9 A.M. As of this writing our post has 2 team members, and has raised only a small amount for the Diabetes Association. We have done a lot better in previous years. Let's get signed up, and raise money in the name of our post team. On line go to www.diabetes.org/stepout click on South Sound WA-Step out Walk to stop Diabetes, click on Join a Team. Our Team name is VFWPost91 (no spaces). If you have any problems call me, Dave Adams, or my wife Nancy, at 253-858-3940. Calendar of Events Event Event Date Date Location Location Time Time Post/Auxiliary Meeting Jr Girls Meeting 08-Sep-14 14-Sep-14 VFW Post 91 VFW Post 91 1900 hrs 1400 hrs Women Veterans Summit Massing of the Colors 2014 Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes Jr Girls Meeting 20-Sep-14 09-Oct-14 11-Oct-14 12-Oct-14 Spokane Convention Center JBLM, Watkins Field Point Defiance Park VFW Post 91 0830 hrs 1300 hrs 0900 hrs 1400 hrs Columbus Day 13-Oct-14 Post/Auxiliary Meeting Daylight Savings Time 49th Veterans Day Parade Jr Girls Meeting Post/Auxiliary Meeting Veterans's Day 13-Oct-14 02-Nov-14 08-Nov-14 09-Nov-14 10-Nov-14 11-Nov-14 VFW Post 91 1900 hrs Auburn, WA VFW Post 91 VFW Post 91 1100 hrs 1400 hrs 1900 hrs PAGE From the Auxiliary President Hello Auxiliary Sisters, We have started the 2014-2015 program year and it is time to begin working on support our local veterans, community members, and programs. Robin Piatt and I attended Treasurer Training in July. Sara Walker and I attended School of Instruction in August. We learned quite a bit of information to share with the auxiliary which will help us throughout the year. Annual members - it is that time to pay your dues for the 20142015 membership year. The dues are $25.00. You can send payment to VFW - Ladies Auxiliary #91, Attn: Treasurer, 2000 South Union, Tacoma WA 98405. We have a new treasurer, Robin Piatt, and we are working to get her trained on her new role. Scholarships- are you aware of all the scholarship opportunities for youth(grades 3rd12th) and adults? Voice of Democracy, Patriots Pen, Youth Essay, Junior Girls Scholarship, Continuing Education Scholarship, etc.....if you would like to learn about these opportunities please let us know and we will get you the information. NEW PROGRAM - National Veterans Service (NVS) - The VFW National Commander and Ladies Auxiliary VFW National President are working together to raise $1 million dollars to help our veterans, military, and families. If you would like to make a contribution to this program, please feel free to send it to the auxiliary earmarked for "Operation Changing Lives." 3 Thank you all for everything you do. Remember to keep track of your community service hours and send this information to us so we can report all the great things going on. Robbin Seeberger Auxiliary President Email - [email protected] Phone / Text - 253-209-2205 SAVE THE DATE - Auxiliary Events 27 September Junior Girls & Auxiliary Program Kick Off Come learn what the Junior Girls do, learn about how to be a member, enjoy some good food, and have fun. 9 -11 October National Presidents Visit, Tacoma WA The National President of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW will be coming to Washington and her visit will mainly take place in the Tacoma area. This 3 day of activities will include a banquet at Narrows Bridge Auxiliary #10018. If you would like more information on this event, please contact Robbin. The Cancer Aid & Research fundraiser planned for this weekend has been postponed. 1- 2 November Auxiliary Bazaar **Tentative - Vendors, crafts, & food. We are still seeking a team to work on this event. If we dont find anyone, event maybe canceled / postponed. Contact Robbin for more info. WILD WEST POST No. 91 VFW 2000 SOUTH UNION AVENUE TACOMA, WA 98405-1024 253-759-6995 www.vfwpost91.com RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Join Us! Next meetings are 8 September and 13 October. THE WILD WESTER is an official publication of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91, published bi-monthly by M/A Wild West VFW Post and Auxiliary #91, 2000 South Union Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98405-1024. To submit an article for publication, email Comrade Stephanie Melendez at [email protected]. The deadline for the next publication is 15 October 2014.
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