Late Notice of VFW Picnic
There will be a Flag Retirement Ceremony at the Nile Country Club picnic area on July 31. The Boy Scouts will burn old Flags and afterwards VFW Post 1040, Post 8870, and the American Legion will be having a BBQ. The Nile Country Club is off of 244th Street SW and next to I-5. As you enter you will bear to the left towards Lake Ballinger. This is a good opportunity to support the Scouts and have some fun. Bring your significant others, too. All the food and drink will be provided.
Upcoming Calendar |
Jul 31
12-5 pm |
Flag Retirement Ceremony and VFW BBQ—
Nile Country Club |
Aug 12
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Board Meeting—
Traner's office (110 James St., Edmonds, WA) |
| Aug 13 |
Post Meeting—
South Snohomish Senior Center
Lunch 11:30; Meeting 12:30 |
Sep 11
12:00 pm |
District 1 meeting—
Alderwood Boys & Girls Club |
Sep 17-20
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Fund Raiser—Smokey Point Rest Area Coffee stop. Contact Jim Adams for details. |
Nov 1
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Teacher of the Year Nominations, Voice of Democracy, & Patriot’s Pen entries due to Post. |
| Nov 5-6 |
Veterans Day Buddy Poppy Fund Raiser. See Bob Crawford for details. |
Nov 13
12:00 pm |
District 1 meeting—
Alderwood Boys & Girls Club |
| Jan 1 |
Public Servant Nominations Due—
Police, Fire, and EMT personnel |
Jan 8
12:00 pm |
District 1 meeting —
Alderwood Boys & Girls Club |
| Jan 21-22 |
Mid-Winter Convention—
Yakima |
| Mar 1 |
Scout of the Year entries due to Post. |
Mar 12
12:00 pm |
District 1 meeting—
Alderwood Boys & Girls Club |
May 14
12:00 pm |
District 1 meeting—
Alderwood Boys & Girls Club |
| May 27-28 |
Memorial Day Buddy Poppy Fund Raiser. See Bob Crawford for details. |
| May 31 |
Memorial Day Ceremonies—
Edmonds Cemetery |
| June 22-25 |
State Convention—Yakima |
College Vets Club Thanks Post
Troy Montgomery, former President of the Edmonds Community College Vets Club and member of our Post, presented the Post with a plaque showing a picture of the Boots to Books memorial that the Vets Club erected on campus with the help from many organizations but with particular help from Post 8870. It is a moving memorial and Troy told of the mementoes and letters that vets have left at the memorial—similar to those left at the Wall. The bottom line is the memorial is achieving its purpose of providing recognition from the non-vet population of the vets coming back to school and an inspiration to the vets who are attending college. The Post does not have a permanent home so the American Legion has volunteered to place this on their wall.
New Member Inducted into Post
Former Vet Club President and one of the newest member of our Post is Charles Lavallee. Please make him welcome at the next meeting and we look forward to getting our young members involved in Post projects. |
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Leading the Parade
19 members of our Post, Martin Spani and Frank Martinez from Post 040, and Elmer Johnson, past District 1 Commander, together with American Legion members and Vietnam Veterans of America joined in leading the parade in downtown Edmonds on the 4th of July. In addition, the Grand Marshal(s) of the parade was a veteran of each war. Representing the Post was Erv Schmidt –WWII, Phil Sacks-Korean War, and Peter Sessum- Iraq and Afghanistan war while Elizabeth Mather represented women who had served in the military. We also had Korean era Jeep, 3/4 ton, Humvee, and a 2 1/2 ton truck carrying members who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) walk. It was a lot of fun and, contrary to popular belief, I watched as everyone on the sidewalks rose as the American Flag approached them. Afterwards, we met at the American Legion Hall where Bob Sweet, the Quartermaster and longtime member of the American Legion, barbequed hotdogs and hamburgers. We had an amazing turnout of both veterans and their families and it was fun having all the vets get together and march together. You might want to put this on your calendar for next year. If you can’t make it to the parade, at least come by for the BBQ.
Erv Schmidt—July’s Speaker
Erv finished his story about serving as a submariner in WWII—including sinking the last Japanese ship of the war (and a train). It is our intent to have our members pass some important personal history along to the rest of us. Erv was excellent and we appreciate him taking the time for us.
Post Recognized at
State Convention
Bob Crawford, Duane Pounds. Jim Traner, Al Boyett, Elizabeth Mather, Rock Roth (a little buried in the background), and Julie Pounds show off the various awards they received from Ron Haily who picked them up at the State Convention in Vancouver, WA. Julie is holding the first place Poppy Exhibit that the Auxiliary entered into competition against all the Auxiliaries in the state. Jim is wearing his White Hat as is Elizabeth. The Post did quite well against its peers. The newsletter was rated as the best newsletter for small Posts (less than 200 members) and once we correct the method of the way we report some other activities, other members in the Post will also receive the recognition they deserve.
Proposed By-Law Changes
We have reviewed our by-laws and made some changes to them to bring them up to date and more consistent with the operations of our Post. Most of these are housekeeping in nature. For instance, there was a rather extensive section pertaining to the Post House—which we don’t have. In another section there was very cumbersome procedure on check writing and approval. The Post already has good internal controls on its funds and the Trustees review disbursements and receipts on a monthly basis negating a section indicating that two trustees and the Post Commander was required to approve every disbursement. The Manual of Procedure from the VFW only requires that the Commander approve these disbursements which has been the case in our Post. You have received a notification letter that was sent to each member informing them the of a vote of the members who attend the August meeting. If any of you would like to review the revised by-law changes, please contact the Quartermaster. Once the Post has approved the revised by-laws they will be sent to Department and National for their approval. |
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