VFP CHAPTERS
Editor: Woody Powell
woody@veteransforpeace.net
January 15, 2009
IN THIS ISSUE:
Greater Seattle Chapter 92 year-end wrap-up
An obituary for Floyd West
A Veteran’s Day story
I am breaking the editorial policy (short paragraph-length stories) I set for this newsletter just days ago.
Reason?
In reading over Candice Davis’ review of the year 2008, I realized that her chapter compiled and contained just about every element of typical VFP chapter activity.
I saw a model, a representation of what we are all trying to achieve with our chapter activities, presented in newsletter style; short, punchy paragraphs loaded with substance.
I couldn’t improve on what she wrote. It would have been criminal to either abbreviate it or not use it. In my opinion, it stands as a good way to wrap up the year across a wide spectrum of VFP activities.
-Ed
2008 Year in Review – Greater Seattle Chapter 92
Candice Davis
I would like to take a few moments to take a look back and celebrate all of the work we have done and accomplished over the past year.
This board was completely new this year. As much as we may have been accused of being ineffective, we have accomplished much more than we envisioned or realized we would be able to do.
We started with the Visions and Goals Retreat for the chapter during the first quarter of the year. This was a huge undertaking and we couldn’t have done it any better without Erica Kay’s dedication and her Action Team. We were able to get far more focus on what the General Membership’s priorities were.
We cleaned up the bylaws. These bylaws will again need revisions most likely after the August 2009 VFP Conference in Baltimore, MD, as National has some changes they will be proposing to the general membership at that time. I will be attending as a member of the VFP Nat’l. Resolutions Committee.
We all worked hard on the new chapter name and got it changed and chartered to Greater Seattle.
VFP Nat’l. and all of the VFP chapters had a change in the IRS financial year-end reporting, which David Ebeling, our trusty Treasurer, handled so smoothly. We instituted a $1,000, Treasury Emergency Reserve Fund and also have clearly defined line items in the bookkeeping records.
We have three new Action Teams now, Truth In Recruiting (formerly known as Counter Recruiting earlier this year), Homeless Vets and Fund Raising. We also have four new permanent official volunteer positions and volunteers:
Librarian – Cheryl Banks,
Tabling - Tom Brookhart (We also have a new stock of pinnies for sale),
Peace Call Editor – Chris Pringer, and
Intra-Chapter Liaison – (stolen from the Olympia Chapter) – Jim James.
VFP Nat’l. installed a new computer system as of about May, and is still ironing out some of the bugs. Roster information is still being updated and sent to them by the Membership Action Team. Chris Pringer and Marty Kunz designed new membership applications for the chapter. Membership has increased and we have some new movers and shakers to breath new life into our group. We got very lucky and received the gift of Cherie Eichholz from VFP Nat’l. as one of our new chapter members. We worked on and instituted a Membership Scholarship Fund for those in the position of hardship or fixed incomes so that they are able maintain the status of Members in Good Standing with VFP National.
We have a newer streamlined website created by Marty Kunz, that will be an ongoing project for new volunteers of each Action Team to step up to and learn.
Pio DeCano and the Grants Action Team wrote three grants in our name toward helping veterans re-integrate into society in several ways.
The War Resisters Action Team has donated one thousand dollars to those resisters in need. Gerry Condon and several members still go to the Westlake Mall and stand vigil with the Watada banner as the issue still remains unresolved. We raised over $2,600 dollars at a social for IVAW, also hosting Elliott Adams, VFP’s Nat’l. President, at our Susan Arndt’s wonderful home. Thank you so much for all of the times you have graciously hosted our many socials.
Mike Dedrick has, with a determined effort, spearheaded getting the Truth In Recruiting Action Team into as many schools as possible to educate the kids about the true role of war and to prevent more deaths. Thanks to all of you brave souls for getting into the trenches.
We have taken the stand of supporting the homeless encampment of Nickelsville and their homeless veterans and, from time to time, still field calls from several different media sources. Anitra Freeman and Peggy Hotes keep us up to date with the latest issues.
The work of the temporary 2009 NW Regional Conference Action Team lead by Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes, has already begun planning and preparing for the March conference to take place here in Seattle. I have been invited and plan to join that team as of the first of the year after Gary Davis takes the reins of President of this chapter.
We sent Chicken Feed letters to Congress with Al Drinkwine’s great poem and energy. The letters must have had some impact even though we never heard of any outcome, as I received a call from the Special Police in Washington DC asking how many letters they should expect.
Several of us tabled at the Edge Theatre many nights and at Sound Theatre Co.
We also had tables in June at the St. Michelle Winery for the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert and in October up in Everett for the Neil Young concert.
Sam Scharf published his Empathy booklet that is on our table at the different tabling events in which we participate.
We had an Education Hour about and some of us attended the Ground Zero event over in Bangor. Several of our members marched in the ILWU West Coast port shut down. A few went to the Olympia and Tacoma Memorial Day events. Several members went back East to the IVAW Winter Soldier Event and also to the 2008 VFP Nat’l Conference. Mike Kearney organized our place in this year’s Veterans Day Parade in Auburn, WA. We had a contingency of 25 members. 10 of us staffed the phones this month for the Channel 9 fund raising telethon.
With the energies of Gary Davis, Mary Crane, Tom Brookhart, Cliff Wells and many others, Arlington NW has moved throughout the NW making an impact on bystanders about the toll of war.
We co-sponsored and many members attended the NABVETS celebration at Fort Lawton for the Day of Honor for the 28 wrongly convicted military men in the riot and murder of an Italian soldier during1944.
We co-sponsored the “No Bases” speaking tour that featured Andrea Licata from Italy. He also gave a presentation during one of our Education hours.
We co-sponsored the Un-embedded Photo Project that was shown at the University of Washington with many donations amounting to $500.00.
Our latest social at Susan Arndt’s hosting Mike Hastie and his photography, raised $251.00, of which we split with him for his travel expenses.
I gave the Directors At- Large (Mike Dedrick, Al Drinkwine, and Gary Davis) the task to plan and get Education Hour presenters to a majority of our meetings for our informational and educational benefit. They did this very well considering it wasn’t in their original “job descriptions” future.
I’m pretty sure there must be a few things I may have missed mentioning and you may be sure it wasn’t on purpose. Please let me know if I missed anything as I will be submitting this to Peace Call for the last issue for the year.
Lastly, the one person I haven’t mentioned here is the person that helped make this report so thorough…Dan Gilman, our Secretary (and Stand - in Secretaries Tom Brookhart, Pio DeCano and David Ebeling). Thank-you one and all.
OBITUARY
From George McAnanama – Chapter 90
This past week, we lost long time community activist Floyd West. Quite a guy Floyd, he was a master gardener, a community activist, founding member of Broome county Veterans For Peace, organizer of our adopt a highway program done by our chapter locally and he was still able to fit in his WW II Eisenhower jacket which was in almost as good shape as Floyd. I last saw Floyd wear that jacket on Armistice Day at the local Veteran's Day parade in 2007. (I think?) don't trust my memory on that one. Floyd had prostate cancer which he chose not to treat. He was in hospice care toward the end.
There is probably much more about Floyd that I don't know. He was a retired professor from our local Broome County Community College. He was also a contributor to our local Roberson Museum which has a naturalist display in his honor and that of his wife Marlene.
Presente’ Floyd West.
AMERICAN LEGION MEMBERS ATTACK VETERANS FOR PEACE
The man on each end of the picture dropped out of the parade line-up when the scuffle started (before the parade started).
We did not think about marching until the day before. I called the Event Coordinator cited in the Auburn Journal to ask if it was too late to get into the parade. She said to show up at the sign-in table at the staging area. On Tue morning six of us arrived and were assigned a spot in the parade by men at the sign-in table (presumably American Legion members since they are the ongoing parade coordinators). We were behind a group of approximately 20 Vietnam veterans and we mingled and talked with some of them and others in the area w/o incident for 15 min. Three of us wore VFP shirts and 2 had VFP caps.
When I opened our 3’x5’ banner and gave a corner to Kent some in front of us voiced objection to the banner. I was approached by a man who did not identify himself, who said we can’t carry our banner. He didn’t have the usual Legion cap and blazer, but I later spotted him on a video online in the back row of the Legion group, carrying a flag. He came back with American Legion post 84 commander Earl Montgomery who was the parade coordinator. They approached Kent (age 70) while another stranger approached me. They said we can’t have the banner and accused us of crashing the parade.
I explained that we were duly assigned a spot in the parade and that Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a, 13 May 1938) made this "a day to be DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE OF WORLD PEACE.”
They all grabbed the banner and grabbed and pushed Kent and me. After being struck on the shoulder Kent knocked Montgomery’s hat off. The other Legionnaire slugged Kent twice on the head. I yelled to our guys to “back up”. This defused it and two aggressors left to rejoin their group as the parade was starting. I volunteered to fold up the banner. Montgomery said to go to the back end of the parade and we did. As the last group began moving we began walking. Montgomery now said we could not proceed. We were threatened with arrest and “trouble” at the end of the parade at the Vets Hall. He jumped in front of me and pushed me. I side stepped several times with him pushing me each time. I finally got past him and four of us (2 had dropped out) walked the parade to much support of the bystanders (who knew nothing of the incident). We pulled out a half block short of the Vets Hall and returned to our cars.
Some witnesses including 2 Boy Scott leaders expressed sympathy and support. The Auburn Journal was called by a sympathetic businessman that one of our four (a former Auburn mayor) talked to. The AJ called us and had an article in the Wed paper 11-12-08, followed by 2 more Thur & Fri. These are on www.AuburnJournal.com. This was picked up on the Associated Press.
On Thur 11-13-08 Kent and I gave a report to the Auburn PD. Kent declined to press charges but I pressed charges of assault and battery against Earl Montgomery, Commander of Post 84 American Legion. My prediction is that he will have plenty friends willing to bear false witness and the DA will not think he has a strong case.
The Auburn Journal did muster enough courage to criticize the Legion but persisted with implications that our banner constituted a protest. They said we were partly responsible for the incident. That is like saying if you think a bully will steal your lunch money you should either stay home or go without lunch.
Carroll Nast, Auburn, CA Chapter 122