General Meeting called to order at @ 6:45 PM by President Dave Loomis

Pledge of Allegiance

Invocation by Lonnie Rose

Moment of silence for POW/MIA

Roll Call of officers                                                                 Term Expires

Dave Loomis, Pres.                          Present                2020

Ron Wilson, VP                                Present                2020

Tom Grinstad, Secretary/

Treasurer                                           Excused                2020

Kirk Lyon, B of D                              Present                2020

Doug Spangler, B of D                     Absent                 2020

Randy Turnbull, B of D                   Present                2020

Richard Martinez, B of D                Absent                 2020

George Douglas, B of D                   Present                2021

Tom Modica, B of D                        Present                2021

Guests and their acknowledgement

Larry Evans – Wells Fargo Bank

Karen Marie Jones – Wells Fargo Bank

New members present and their acknowledgement

Mike Perkowski – Marines

Craig Convery – Army

Sal Vacca – Navy

Steve Blackburn – Army

Secretary’s May minutes are posted on the chapter website, VVA165.org. Minutes were approved as drafted.

Treasurer’s May report was read by Bill Cox. Discussion and questions followed. The report was approved as read.

Membership Update was provided by Dave Loomis. The chapter currently has 281 members. There are 27 Auxiliary VVA members.

Old Business

The Memorial Day Parade was on Saturday, May 25 and was very successful despite the rain. Five members of the Coast Guard volunteered to assist with the parade. Thanks to all who participated and helped.

The Memorial Day Service on May 27^th was a very moving event. There was the Greenacres Festival of Flags and the Vietnam War Memorial Dedication. Special thanks to Dave and Rose Loomis for their work at this event. Gary Turnbull discussed helping with event set up in the future and thereby encouraging other veterans groups to assist in our events. Doc Holliday discussed that the garbage collection should be improved.

Melvins Brewing will donate proceeds from their $3 pints from June 30 to July 13 to the VVA Chapter 165 fund raising program per Tom Modica.

The Vietnam Veterans National Convention will be held July 16 through July 20 in Spokane, Washington.

The Car Show will be on Sunday July 21. An update was discussed by committee members. Anyone who wants to help can sign up with Doc Holliday. Still need volunteers. A signup sheet was circulated. Sam Houston discussed a rehearsal meeting at the car show site Tuesday July 16 at 6PM. Parking procedures, distributing parking vests and registration will be reviewed. Dave Loomis indicated that the Coast Guard is offering to assist. On Saturday July 20 a meeting is tentatively scheduled at 5PM at the VFW to pick up tables and chairs etc. Details of this meeting will be provided at the next chapter meeting. Dale Boe will do the cooking and needs volunteers to assist him. Tom Modica will check with Starbucks about them providing volunteers. Doc Holliday thanked the trophy sponsors, mentioned that we needed more judges and handed out posters to be distributed by the membership. Ask for donations when you give out posters. It was noted that we probably need 10 to 12 parking attendants. Ken Carlson noted that we probably need 10 judges.

Guests Larry Evans and Karen Marie Jones were introduced. Larry discussed the local and national programs Wells Fargo has to support veterans. They included first, real estate properties donated to veterans. Second, they offer scholarships to disabled veterans. Third, the bank has a special veteran hiring program. Fourth, they offer programs for disabled vets. Larry mentioned that we are free to call him if we need anything at Wells Fargo.

Karen Marie Jones discussed her Vietnam connection. A child was born in Vietnam with the father being a GI and the mother being a Vietnamese woman who was subsequently killed in the war. The child was moved to the United States and sponsored by a U.S. church. Karen later married this son of a soldier and a Vietnamese woman. Her husband and Karen had a son named Nickolas who as an adult joined the Navy. He unfortunately was later killed in a car crash. Krista also discussed a Wells Fargo program with which she is involved. It is a fundraiser on October 12 for the organization Growing Veterans. Growing Veterans grows food for veterans and provides counseling for veterans.

New Business

A Pot Luck Party on Saturday, June 8 was discussed by Dave Loomis. This is to honor the Coast Guard that has assisted our chapter in the past. It will be held at 619 Darby Drive in Bellingham from 11AM until whenever. Everyone is invited to Dave’s party.

On Flag Day which is Saturday June 14 please display your flags. VFW Post 1585 will have a shrimp or chicken dinner at 6PM for $10. The address is 625 N. State St. in Bellingham. Bring your friends and have some fun.

San Juan Cruises will have a two hour cruise on the Victoria Star around Bellingham Bay on Monday June 24. This will be to honor those in the military who have been lost. Light refreshments will be served and drinks will be available for purchase. Tickets cost $50 per person. Call Joan Wyatt at (360) 739-1540 or register at htt//a/zsociety.org/event/3rdannualcruise-for-acause.

Ray Radke’s 90^th birthday party will be on Friday June 28. Everyone is invited. It will be held at the VFW Post 1585 at 625 N. State St. in Bellingham from 5PM to 8PM. Ray said no gifts.

Raffle Ticket Drawing was conducted by George Douglas. The chapter received $51. Also, the chapter collected $113 for dinner.

Good of the Order

First, on Saturday June 8 VFW Post 1585 at 625 N. State St. in Bellingham will host a Boy Scouts Pancake Breakfast Fund Raiser from 8AM until noon.

Second, on Saturday June 15 VFW Post 9031 at 7011 Hannegan Road in Lynden will host a breakfast from 8 to 11AM. Adults are $7 and children 5 and younger are free.

Third, on Sunday June 30 VFW Post 1585 at 625 N. State St. in Bellingham will host a breakfast from 8 until 10AM.

Fourth, Ken Richardson introduced a motion to donate $400 for the chapter to buy bus passes for veterans who live in veteran assisted housing. Motion seconded and passed.

Fifth, Ken Richardson thanked everyone for the Greenacres Memorial Day Service. Greenacres is owned by the Allied Veterans Council. The purchase of memorial bricks for $125 was also encouraged.

Sixth, Dave Loomis was wished a happy 68^th birthday by all.

Benediction was conducted by Chaplain Lonnie Rose. He discussed that the VVA embraces all religions. Additionally, the role of the chaplain was reviewed. Finally, Lonnie is a minister and counselor and he is available for counseling to all members.

Next meeting is July 2, 2019.  Dinner will begin at 6 PM with the meeting at 7 PM. Spouses and guests are invited.

Motion to adjourn meeting at @ 7:35 PM. Motion seconded and passed. The meeting was adjourned by Dave Loomis.

General Meeting called to order at @ 6:45 PM by President Gene Goldsmith

Pledge of Allegiance

Invocation by Lonnie Rose

Moment of silence for POW/MIA

Roll Call of officers                                                                 Term Expires

Gene Goldsmith, Pres.                    Present

Dave Loomis, VP                             Present

Doug Spangler, 2^nd VP                    Absent

Tom Grinstad, Secretary                 Excused

Bill Cox, Asst. Sec.                            Present

Ken Richardson, Treasurer             Present

Tom Marich, B of D                         Absent                 2020

Kirk Lyon, B of D                              Present                2019

Larry Martin, B of D                         Absent                 2020

Peter Pavlik, B of D                         Absent                 2019

Tom Modica, B of D                        Present                2018

David Osinski, B of D                      Absent                 2018

Guests and their acknowledgement

Rosemarie Loomis

Melinda Quayle

Agnes Kenny

Dorothy Rood

Jim Smith

New members present and their acknowledgement

Howard Quayle

Secretary’s July minutes were reviewed prior to the meeting by the membership. The minutes are also posted on the chapter website, VVA165.org. Minutes were approved as drafted.

Treasurer’s August report was read by Ken Richardson. Discussion and questions followed. The report was approved as read.

Membership Update was given by Gene Goldsmith. The chapter currently has 279 members. There are 7 Auxiliary VVA members. Both totals are as of July 31, 2017.

Old Business

The Car Show was discussed. The Gearheads made a $500 donation. The Antique Truck Association has discussed making a $500 donation. Thanks were given to the Car Show Committee and to all of the volunteers for making this a successful event. The chapter made approximately $10,500 in profit from the show. Ken Richardson mentioned that next year he can probably get 10 to 12 Starbucks employees to work as volunteers at the show. Several thank you letters were read and Barkley Village wants us back next year and a tentative date has been set. There were 260 cars registered this year. Bill Bowen will look into the design and cost of acquiring a new VVA165 banner that can be placed over Victory Lane and be used for other chapter events. Ken Richardson mentioned that next year the Car Show Committee should prepare a budget and get approval of that budget from the chapter before any expenses are incurred.

A Plaque for Gary Lysne was shown to the membership. It is a plaque which commemorates the dedication of the new service office in Gary’s name and remembrance.

The Welcome Home Picnic was discussed by Gene Goldsmith. It was well attended and fun was had by all.

New Business

The VVA National Convention in Spokane in 2018 was discussed. Prior chapter approval set aside $4,000 of car show funds to support our chapter attendance at the convention. Funds will be set aside for that purpose. Motion made, seconded and passed.

Children of Vietnam Funding was discussed. $715 was allocated to support 5 children’s scholarships for the coming year. Motion made, seconded and passed.

A VVA165 Plaque from National was shown to the membership. It was a plaque honoring the chapter with the “National Membership Growth Award” for 2016. Thanks were given to the appropriate chapter members for their letter writing campaign.

The Silent Auction Winners were announced among the bidding chapter members. These auctioned items were undistributed car show items that needed to be auctioned.

The BTC Scholarship Breakfast was discussed by Gene Goldsmith. Kirk Lyon, Dave Loomis, Bill Bowen and one member to be determined will attend and represent the chapter. It will be held October 5, 2017 at 7:30 AM. See Kirk if you want to attend. The plaques commemorating Gary Lysne and Chiyoko Harada Radke are now up. Kirk requested that he be notified sooner on correspondence from BTC.

A Policy Statement was made by Gene Goldsmith regarding chapter purchases and donations to the chapter. One, only Gene approves and disburses money from the service account subject to the review and recommendations of the chapter officers and board. Two, no one can order items for the chapter without the approval of an officer. Three, VVA165 is a 501 (c) 3 corporation which means that donations to the chapter are tax deductible by the donor. Therefore, to protect that tax deductibility all donations must run through our accounts.

The Growing Veterans organization was discussed by Mike Hackett. They have two farms and they grow food to sell benefiting veterans. They also try to foster veteran fellowship. All chapter members are invited to visit the farms.

DAV and Chapter Volunteers are needed for Veterans Day signup. Gene Goldsmith passed out signup sheets. Volunteers will have booths in front of three Haggen stores this year.

Next meeting is October 3, 2017.  Dinner will begin at 6 PM with the meeting at 7 PM. Spouses and guests are invited. Dave Loomis will fill in for Gene Goldsmith.

Good of the Order

First, Gene Goldsmith reminded the members to check their VFW monthly calendar for upcoming events.

Second, Gene Goldsmith requested that members consider volunteering to be drivers for the DAV van.

Third, Gene Goldsmith has VVA business cards and VVA membership applications to give out to members who may need them for recruitment or for other chapter business.

Fourth, Gene Goldsmith reminded the membership of the monthly breakfast the third Saturday of the month at Post 9301.

Motion to adjourn meeting at @ 7:50 PM. Motion seconded and passed. The meeting was adjourned by Gene Goldsmith.

Gary Lysne received a Letter of Commendation from the Whatcom County Council and the Whatcom County Executive for his many years of service in assisting veterans. The chapter is proud of Gary’s work in not only assisting all veterans but his years of active service benefiting the local chapter and the Washington State Council. The Letter of Commendation follows.

The 6th Annual VVA Car Show will be held Sunday, July 24th between 10am and 2pm at Sunset Square Shopping Center in Bellingham. The center is at the intersection of Orleans and Sunset and  the show will be between the K-Mart and Office Max. Vehicle preregistration is available. Registration on site begins at 7am.

Everyone is invited and all spectators are free. There will be music, food, memorabilia sales, raffles and trophies for the best cars, motorcycle and truck. All proceeds support Whatcom County veterans. Bring the family and spend a fun day together.

For more information please contact Tom Modica at (360) 738-3842 or 175rrvn@gmail.com.  Or, contact Dale Boe (360)739-2969 or thaihouse187@yahoo.com.