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Dwindling participation prompts local VFW to recruit new members
QUENTIN ROUX / Staff
VFW Post 6370 Commander Dave Gardner says the organization is in great need of new members, and is appealing to servicemen and women who have served in any capacity in a combat zone to join.
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They’re out there, and local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6370 Commander Dave Gardner wants to bring them into the brotherhood and sisterhood.
The message is: New members wanted.
The intent is simple: If new VFW members don’t step forward to boost the Post’s membership, it could be in danger of dwindling to nothing.
For that reason, Gardner is on an active recruitment drive to attract eligible members — and that doesn’t mean they have to have physically fought on foreign soil.
They merely need to have been on active duty in combat zones, Gardner said. Cooks, drivers, engineers ... all would be welcome.
And that, of course, includes women, said Gardner, a Korean War veteran who served as a medic.
Right now, the Post has 70 members, but only 20 are active, mostly because they’re WWII or Korean War veterans, Gardner said.
“We want to get some of the young men, and women, to join and take an active part,” he said.
“The good done by the national organization in legislative action for veterans and their families (is like) the good our Post does with money from our fundraising activities,” he said.
Although the members have a measure of exclusivity, the primary aim of maintaining a Post is to keep fostering awareness of the flag, the country, and what it means to all Americans, Gardner said.
A color guard makes regular appearances at island functions and events, including the annual Christmas Parade.
The Post has a depository for used flags at the City Hall, while new (American-made) flags are on sale to boost coffers, Gardner said.
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