Virginia VFW Convention!

 Mama and I traveled last week to the beautiful city of Portsmouth to share in the business and fun of their state convention. We were not disappointed!  This is the home state of Commander in Chief Hal Roesch and I had big shoes to fill but we were welcomed with open arms and felt very much at home the entire time.

I enjoyed spending time with the incoming Commander, Butch Schupska.   Everyone is still working for outgoing Commander Eric, but they are positioning to jump out of the gate and run the race again when the new year begins on 1 July.  Butch kindly asked me to install him into office after his election and it was an honor to be a part of the Joint VFW and Auxiliary installation.  This Joint event shows once again that we are two sides of the same coin and we are all working toward the same goal!  Emotion overwhelmed Butch a few times, but it was heartwarming to see this man so humbled by the awesome responsibility he was undertaking.

SSG Jonathan Dozier Memorial Post 2894 took many of the yearly awards, almost too many to mention, including several three foot tall trophies!  They do not have a physical Post home so all of their efforts are directed outward.  Check them out on Facebook if you want a glimpse of what a community oriented post can do!  For example, they are a five year All American Post and 5 of the last 6 years National Outstanding Community Service Post. In 2020 they received the National Outstanding Community Service Project Award of Excellence AND the 2020 Fred C. Hall National Community Service Project Award.  Outgoing Commander Chris and incoming Commander Jose understand what the VFW is at its very core:  A service oriented group of motivated members who want to do great things for their community!  I will follow them on social media and keep up with the great things they are doing.  Plus, they have an absolutely STUNNING electronic Post newsletter!

This year, Virginia went above and beyond as they created three new posts and revitalized 2 more that were on the brink of closing.  That takes a lot of hard work and determination from the leadership at all levels and Commander Eric is to be commended for keeping the state on track to get this done.  And it isn’t just committees or groups that excel here.  They have motivated individuals too.  One member, on his own over Memorial Day, distributed poppies and garnered over $6,500 in donations!  He was also tireless in the evenings at convention and even cajoled me into purchasing raffle tickets.  He was VERY good at separating all of us from our wallets.  His enthusiasm and desire made it impossible to say no.

The meetings and gatherings began Thursday morning and went well into the afternoon of Sunday with District Commander training and the first Council meeting of the year.  Training is the key to success!  They certainly used me during this time as they asked me to speak on no less than five separate occasions.  Fortunately, I was able to meet the challenge and each time gave them something different to think about.  There’s nothing worse than repeating yourself when speaking to the same groups of people.

I’m looking forward to going back to Portsmouth in a few weeks to be with Chief Hal and the members of Virginia once again.  I understand there’s a certain member who wants to sell me more raffle tickets!

How about this high tech yet Old Timey microphone!  It worked great, carrying my voice far and wide.  How do I know?  I heard several comments about that boring guy in the next room.  It had to be me because they had some great speakers at the convention.

Portsmouth is a major shipyard and had several Navy ships in for repair.  Commander Eric works on these and said they can be in dry dock for 18-24 months getting maintenance, repair, and upgrades.  This happens every three years or so.  This is a high and dry aircraft carrier.  Quite a sight

This is a Coast Guard mobile lighthouse, now used as a museum. It was also a nice landmark for me when I was out walking Mama.

Commander Butch and I played in a “Fun Only” slots competition sponsored by Powerhouse Gaming.  I actually won the thing, but it was only for bragging rights.  Powerhouse certainly is a great corporate sponsor for the Virginia VFW!

Here’s one for the Post Office wall:  L-R, New Commander Jose of the SSG Jonathan Dozier Memorial Post 2894, Past State Commander Eric, New State Commander Butch, outgoing Commander Chris [who wore down the battery on his chair going back and forth collecting all those fantastic membership and community service awards for his Post, and of course, yours truly.

For some reason, Mama thoroughly enjoyed watching the river and the boats from the 8^th floor every time we waited for the elevator.