News

By Christopher Dresnek

Post 3063 is lucky enough to have a Victory Garden this year thanks to the hard work of Comrades Tiffany Cavin and Anthony Rose.

A Victory Garden is a meant to enhance national food production during war, and their war is on food insecurity. The state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food is what defines food insecurity, and as Comrade Anthony mentioned, it is something his friends and family have dealt with for a long time.

In addition to learning about Victory Gardens and food insecurity, Anthony also learned how to finally grow something besides tomatoes.

Comrade Tiffany will harvest vegetables before meetings

and have them available for pick up. She has tomatoes, corn, various squash, greens and many other tasty veggies to try.

Feel free to talk with her about her passion project, it has been a labor of love and one with which she hopes to spread the message about food insecurity.

Basic Life Saver Course

When Comrade Rose was in the military he was one of his brigade’s BLS (Basic Life Saver) instructors and went on to the same role at Madigan Army Hospital.  After he got out of the service it seemed a natural fit to be able to continue using those skills.

He came up with the idea of teaching BLS and making it a fund raiser as a way of giving back to the school who welcomed him so warmly upon his discharge, Seattle Central.  The scholarship is named for Anthony Diaz, the school’s Veteran Certification Official, and has raised more than $2,000 so far.

Please contact comrade Comrade Rose at antbrose@gmail.com to donate to the scholarship or take a future BLS course.

This is a recurring column that highlights new VFW Post 3063 members. Comrade Leo Potts joined the post in April 2018.

What motivated you to join the VFW?  I enjoy the camaraderie with other soldiers.

What is your military background? Originally enlisted as E–1 and was an infantry soldier, Was talked into joining ROTC and became an officer in 1987. Combat Engineer, got out in 1991, got back in 2000. Deployed to Iraq & Afghanistan, retired in 2015 as a major. There’s more but I don’t want to bore you.

Civilian job, education, family, hobbies, or anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?  I’m fully retired and what I do for fun is travel, vacation, help other soldiers get their benefits, and help other people travel and vacation more.

What do you hope to achieve being a member of the VFW? I want to be part of a family, military family, and whatever I can do to help the unit I plan on doing that.

Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063’s September 2018 e-newsletter is available here. Highlights include: Buy Your Fundraiser Tickets; Community Service Reporting; VFW Remembers Sen. John McCain; Disabled Veterans Will Soon be Able to Fly Space-A; and Veterans Committees Pressure VA to Conduct Cannabis Research.

Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063’s August 2018 e-newsletter is available here. Highlights include: VFW National Convention Trip Report; From the Auxiliary: Vacationing Vet; Comrade Al Simpson Receives the Ambassador for Peace Medal; Post and Boy Scouts Team Up to Retire Flags; Call Out For Fundraising Donations; and Victory Garden Update.

By Auxiliary President Donna Limric

One of the perks available for those who serve their country are DEALS: Goodwill, Dairy Queen, cell phone companies, cars, etc. We should always ask if a vendor has these discounts. We have earned them. When we buy items and services from these vendors we are also thanking them for supporting us.

When it comes to travel there are lots of deals.

The auxiliary is responsible for helping military personal, veterans, and families lead healthy and happy lives. Most of us take it for granted and think vacation time is a luxury or a frill. The truth is that self-care is crucial. I would like to offer our post members a few options that are available to veterans. There are cruises, camp grounds, hotels, and airlines that support veterans by offering discounts. There are hotels and other places to stay that are for active and retired military.

Here is a small sample of vacation deals and discounts I have found: Best Western, Choice Hotels, Comfort Inn, Embassy Suites, Hampton, Hawthorn Suites, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, La Quinta, Marriott, Motel 6, Red Lion Hotels, Red Roof Inn, and Sleep Inn all offer various discounts.

Sandals Beach Resorts, an all-inclusive resort in various ports of calls, has a 10% discount for veterans and active military personnel.

Caesars Entertainment International has a program called Total Rewards. This program offers discounts at all their properties (not just in Las Vegas but all around the world). This includes Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, Harrah’s, and Baily’s. They offer free parking on any of their properties, dinner deals, and more.

The Hale Koa is a resort on the island of Oahu. This is only for active military, veterans, and family members. In addition to room accommodations they also offer discount tickets to events.

Similar to the Hale Koa is the Shades of Green Lodge resort near Disney World.

Closer to home is Jim’s Creek, a camp ground in Snohomish county. This campground requires military ID.  However, one can bring guests.

Many Military bases have lodges and hotels available for those with DOD benefits.

Get out there have fun, relax, and enjoy the offers provided here. Also ask for discounts at airlines, car rentals, and attractions. It always pays to ask.