Minnesota VFW State Convention
June 13 - 16, 2024: The Minnesota VFW State Convention was held in Rochester, MN. This was the 105th Minnesota convention and a training school for elected officers, such as Commander and Quartermaster, in a VFW post and auxiliary.
Thursday, June 13, 2024:
The quartermaster session.
The Commander class.
Quartermaster Barry Henriksen
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Senior Vice Commander David Staehlin
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Department Commander Dan Meyer saluted the flag during the Council of Administration flag presentation.
Friday, June 14, 2024: The Minnesota VFW Riders:
Conventioneers, including state Commander Dan Meyer, waited for the Minnesota VFW Riders to arrive at the hotel.
Then they ROARED in!
Welcome!
Friday, June 14, 2024: Award ceremony. Brainerd took four awards.
David Meyer, Department Veteran of the Year
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Chaplain Rios, Department Chaplain of the Year
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First place award for BrainerdVFW.org website and Facebook
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Second place award for Best Feature Story
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Friday June 14, 2024: The annual joint memorial service for those in the VFW who passed away in the past twelve months.
Department Honor Guard
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Tina Cavitt, Auxiliary Bugler
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Saturday, June 15, 2024: Plenty of good comeradarie at meetings and hospitality suites.
Saturday, June 15, 2024: The annual banquet. Attendees includied Gordon Kirk, a 101-year-old WWII veteran.
Auxiliary National President Carla Martinez said the post and auxiliary should always operate together.
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Past National Commander in Chief Tim Borland described how to sign up new members.
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Sunday, June 16, 2024: There was an election and a joint installation of officers.
Newly elected Department Auxiliary President Karen England and Commander David Staehlin
June 8 - 11, 2023: The Minnesota VFW State Convention was held at the Crown Plaza in Plymouth, MN. It was a training school for VFW officers, along with a presentation of achievement awards. Brainerd took second place in best publicized feature story, by Brainerd VFW Auxiliary President Sue Sterling, about Vietnam Veterans Day. The Brainerd VFW also received a second-place award for social media. Photos by Sue Sterling
Brainerd VFW Auxiliary Senior Vice President Helen Doucette was honored as Minnesota VFW Auxiliary Member of the Year.
Helen Doucette and family at the convention.
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(l-r) Brainerd Auxiliary President Sue Sterling, Dept president, Sonja Tagte, Dept Secretary Laurie Dale and Helen sitting.
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June 9 - 12, 2022, St. Cloud, Minnesota. The VFW Convention was a time to thank the officers who had served in 2021-2022,and vote for and install the incoming officers for 2022-2023. It was also a time to connect with other VFW members to learn and grow through mutual trust and sharing of knowledge. The Post and the Auxiliary received awards for their successes during the year. The Brainerd VFW won first place in the state in the Social Media Contest/Best Social Media Site. They also won first place for their Buddy Poppy Display Contest (Category 3) for their Lady Liberty submission. We can be proud of what we have accomplished this past year and look forward to continuing to be a post to serve honorably. Sue Sterling, Brainerd Auxiliary President
Sue Sterling’s thoughts on the MN VFW Convention in June 2022:
A lot of things can be said about the convention that was held in St. Cloud this past weekend, but the memory that will stay with me for a very long time is the thrill I felt when 100+ women were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The symbolism of unity in a common goal was repeated as we all sang the national anthem. At that moment I knew that the VFW would stand firm in its commitment to the values our forefathers swore allegiance to so many years ago.
A flag and banner presentation started off the Friday afternoon ceremony with ‘pomp and circumstance’ front and center. Each District President was escorted into the room by the flag bearers. The Past Department Presidents were recognized at the beginning of the meeting, followed by these reports: Veterans & Family Support, Americanism, Auxiliary Community Outreach, Chief of Staff/Extension, Mentoring for Leadership, Historian, Hospital, Legislative, Credentials, Registration; the afternoon session reports were given for Membership, Scholarships Youth Activities, Buddy Poppy/National Home. Last but not least, those with 45+ Years of service were recognized. The number of years served by our 45+ year members was well over 700! That dedication and commitment.
The Mayor of Brainerd even came and gave a short presentation before the day was over. There was a lot of standing up and sitting down throughout all these proceedings. Much time and effort were put into making the meeting flow smoothly and professionally.
The auxiliary meeting on Friday afternoon was focused on the accomplishment of all the committees. My learning curve was increased as I listened to each committee chair give the names and post numbers of the posts that furthered the cause for which the Committee was created. This meeting did on a much larger scale what our auxiliary does each month in listening to each committee report. Remember all those year-end reports that Helen bugged you about in May? Well, the figures on those reports were what the Department Committee Chairs used to decide the ‘winners’ of the awards.
List of Awards:
First place in State for VFW Social Media Contest, Best social media site
First place in State for Buddy Poppy Display Contest, Category 3.
Excellent Americanism Projects, Youth Promoter, 100%+ Membership for 2021-2022, Good Job Award for outstanding job in supporting programs and goals of the VFW Auxiliary, Healthy VFW Auxiliary Award, Marna Lohse for Mentoring and Leadership Chairman.
There was standing room only at the memorial service on Friday evening in honor of the members who have passed away in the past year. It was a very emotional display of respect. It was heartwarming to realize that this organization still honors God first and foremost.
Saturday evening had the majority of the members attending the formal dinner in the ballroom. It began with a short reenactment of the civil war battle by the 1st MN Infantry at the start of the dinner. I sat at the table with members from the Prior Lake Post 6208, and the Commander of that post was given the All-State Team Award. Dave Thompson was his name. I was able to get a photo of he and his proud wife. The meal was delicious. Drawings for the five quilts were held and the winners got to take home their prizes. Rita Reikofski was given the opportunity to present the quilts to each of the winners. There was also a brief recognition of those who created and wore the masks for the dinner. The District 6 Browerville team had matching masks.
One of the main purposes of this summer convention is to elect officers for the new year of 2022-2023, which begins this month. As of today, all the officers voted on in April will begin their service – both the Post officers and the auxiliary officers.
Sunday morning was the actual voting in of new officers. This year there was no contest for any office. Each current officer moved “up the line” to the next position. (Thus, the title “Line Officer”). The only Department officer that is new this year is Guard, and there was only one person running for that office. Consequently, the morning session adjourned early, to be followed by the installation of officers at a formal gathering at 11:30 a.m.
For the installation ceremony, the Auxiliary members filled the left side of the conference room, and the Post members were on the right. There was a long, dignified swearing-in ceremony for each of them. I will share the photos I took with Mark and he will add them to our website. Some will go on our Facebook page also.
As the Sixth District of the MN VFW we can be proud of our auxiliary president, Rita Reikofski. She went above and beyond her duties as District President, and made five quilts, one for each branch of the military. They were raffled off and winners were announced at the Saturday night dinner. The amount of money they earned for the Folds of Freedom fundraiser was over $2,000.
I also want to thank our own, Marna Lohse, for her diligence in distributing Buddy Poppies to everyone at the convention’s hospitality room. She also attended the Thursday training program to become more knowledgeable on how the auxiliary functions.
I am honored to have represented this auxiliary at this convention, and I sincerely appreciate Dawn Garin for attending with me. There is so much I don’t understand about the formal proceedings, and with her help I will learn to be a better president. I look forward to working with the members of our Post to make this coming year the best we’ve experienced since Covid took over our lives. Let’s all work together to make this community a place to be proud of.
Written by Sue Sterling
June 14, 2022
Brainerd, MN
A lot of things can be said about the convention that was held in St. Cloud this past weekend, but the memory that will stay with me for a very long time is the thrill I felt when 100+ women were reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The symbolism of unity in a common goal was repeated as we all sang the national anthem. At that moment I knew that the VFW would stand firm in its commitment to the values our forefathers swore allegiance to so many years ago.
A flag and banner presentation started off the Friday afternoon ceremony with ‘pomp and circumstance’ front and center. Each District President was escorted into the room by the flag bearers. The Past Department Presidents were recognized at the beginning of the meeting, followed by these reports: Veterans & Family Support, Americanism, Auxiliary Community Outreach, Chief of Staff/Extension, Mentoring for Leadership, Historian, Hospital, Legislative, Credentials, Registration; the afternoon session reports were given for Membership, Scholarships Youth Activities, Buddy Poppy/National Home. Last but not least, those with 45+ Years of service were recognized. The number of years served by our 45+ year members was well over 700! That dedication and commitment.
The Mayor of Brainerd even came and gave a short presentation before the day was over. There was a lot of standing up and sitting down throughout all these proceedings. Much time and effort were put into making the meeting flow smoothly and professionally.
The auxiliary meeting on Friday afternoon was focused on the accomplishment of all the committees. My learning curve was increased as I listened to each committee chair give the names and post numbers of the posts that furthered the cause for which the Committee was created. This meeting did on a much larger scale what our auxiliary does each month in listening to each committee report. Remember all those year-end reports that Helen bugged you about in May? Well, the figures on those reports were what the Department Committee Chairs used to decide the ‘winners’ of the awards.
List of Awards:
First place in State for VFW Social Media Contest, Best social media site
First place in State for Buddy Poppy Display Contest, Category 3.
Excellent Americanism Projects, Youth Promoter, 100%+ Membership for 2021-2022, Good Job Award for outstanding job in supporting programs and goals of the VFW Auxiliary, Healthy VFW Auxiliary Award, Marna Lohse for Mentoring and Leadership Chairman.
There was standing room only at the memorial service on Friday evening in honor of the members who have passed away in the past year. It was a very emotional display of respect. It was heartwarming to realize that this organization still honors God first and foremost.
Saturday evening had the majority of the members attending the formal dinner in the ballroom. It began with a short reenactment of the civil war battle by the 1st MN Infantry at the start of the dinner. I sat at the table with members from the Prior Lake Post 6208, and the Commander of that post was given the All-State Team Award. Dave Thompson was his name. I was able to get a photo of he and his proud wife. The meal was delicious. Drawings for the five quilts were held and the winners got to take home their prizes. Rita Reikofski was given the opportunity to present the quilts to each of the winners. There was also a brief recognition of those who created and wore the masks for the dinner. The District 6 Browerville team had matching masks.
One of the main purposes of this summer convention is to elect officers for the new year of 2022-2023, which begins this month. As of today, all the officers voted on in April will begin their service – both the Post officers and the auxiliary officers.
Sunday morning was the actual voting in of new officers. This year there was no contest for any office. Each current officer moved “up the line” to the next position. (Thus, the title “Line Officer”). The only Department officer that is new this year is Guard, and there was only one person running for that office. Consequently, the morning session adjourned early, to be followed by the installation of officers at a formal gathering at 11:30 a.m.
For the installation ceremony, the Auxiliary members filled the left side of the conference room, and the Post members were on the right. There was a long, dignified swearing-in ceremony for each of them. I will share the photos I took with Mark and he will add them to our website. Some will go on our Facebook page also.
As the Sixth District of the MN VFW we can be proud of our auxiliary president, Rita Reikofski. She went above and beyond her duties as District President, and made five quilts, one for each branch of the military. They were raffled off and winners were announced at the Saturday night dinner. The amount of money they earned for the Folds of Freedom fundraiser was over $2,000.
I also want to thank our own, Marna Lohse, for her diligence in distributing Buddy Poppies to everyone at the convention’s hospitality room. She also attended the Thursday training program to become more knowledgeable on how the auxiliary functions.
I am honored to have represented this auxiliary at this convention, and I sincerely appreciate Dawn Garin for attending with me. There is so much I don’t understand about the formal proceedings, and with her help I will learn to be a better president. I look forward to working with the members of our Post to make this coming year the best we’ve experienced since Covid took over our lives. Let’s all work together to make this community a place to be proud of.
Written by Sue Sterling
June 14, 2022
Brainerd, MN
