Community support of vets appreciated

Once again, we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic summer season at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody who came by and shopped with us during our sale season. Although it seemed like a really long stretch for those of us who worked every week to gather and prepare all the treasures that we had for sale, the time flew by as we greeted many of the same people on a weekly basis. With all the community support, our sales assisted us with gaining the funds we need to help Veterans in the area.

Our last day was the 25th of August and we are now closed for the season. We will once again start collecting items in the spring of 2019. GOODWILL trucks will be here sometime after Labor Day weekend to haul all the leftover items to their facility in Spokane for distribution there.

A very special thanks goes out to all the community members who donated many very serviceable items which we offered for sale. Without those ongoing donations, we couldn’t continue the sale. For those of you who consider donating, we accept just about any serviceable item for the sale. Our Season begins the first of April and runs through the end of August. We appreciate a call to either of our numbers so that we can accept all donations as they arrive. That way we can make sure any of your donated treasures aren’t damaged by the weather. Those numbers are 509-631-1839 for the Legion phone and 509-846-3762 for John.

Once again, I need to specifically name two very special helpers. First of all I want to thank Donna Shear for all of her help since the beginning. If you shopped with us, you saw Donna moving around the area, non-stop, arranging and displaying all the incoming merchandise. The other constant at our sales is Carol Nordine. As in the past, Carol spent hours working on incoming merchandise as well as the “Christmas Corner” and our bookshelves. Without their help, I’m not sure we could have accomplished as much as we did this year.

Lastly, I want to thank all the members who tirelessly showed up week after week to help us accomplish our goals. That goal is to continue to help those Vets who are in need. We also are continuing to sponsor our scholarship fund which allowed us to award a scholarship to graduating seniors from local area schools. We continue to support the Isle of Flags in numerous ways, including the storage of all the flags for the event. We continue to sponsor a local Cub Scout pack; the pack holds its meetings in our facility.

This year we were able to acquire a running vehicle that we used to help a Veteran in need. With the help of MPH, we were able to put a new muffler on the vehicle and make it serviceable. It will allow that Vet to remain independent for the foreseeable future.

Don’t forget the hall is available for all your grand occasions. In addition the monies received help us keep the doors open, lights on and maintenance performed on and around the building. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will be back next year.

Jim Brakebill

Commander,

American Legion Post 157