Officers for 2016 -1017
VFW |
VFW Auxiliary |
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Post Commander
Sr. Vice-Commander Jr. Vice-Commander Quartermaster/Adjutant Chaplain/Service Officer 1st Year Trustee 2nd Year Trustee/Guard 3rd Year Trustee Judge Advocate Surgeon Guard/OOD |
Donald Laflamme
Randy Baldonado Lee Ford Adam Zavardino Nelson Colon Patrick Mickler Mark Klingelheber Fred Eichhorn Earl Andrews Mike Snow Nick Savastano |
President
Sr. Vice-President Jr. Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Chaplain Guard 1st Year Trustee 2nd Year Trustee 3rd Year Trustee |
Ashley Stephens
Scott Riddle Ruth Spell Theresa Collins Linda Parker Pauline Beck Dorothy Andrews Gigi Wardlow Pam Stockwell Anita Luse |
Our Mission & Vision
To foster camaraderie among United States veterans of overseas conflicts. To serve our veterans, the military, and our communities. To advocate on behalf of all veterans.
Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of this great country.
Ensure that veterans are respected for their service, always receive their earned entitlements, and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of this great country.
Our Core Values
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About the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the US |
About the East Seminole County VFW |
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The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for them,and they were left to care for themselves.
In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum. By 1915, membership grew to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000. Since then, the VFW's voice had been instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration, creating a GI bill for the 20th century, the development of the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. In 2008, VFW won a long-fought victory with the passing of a GI Bill for the 21st Century, giving expanded educational benefits to America's active-duty service members, and members of the Guard and Reserves, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VFW also has fought for improving VA medical centers services for women veterans. Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and Women in Military Service memorials, the VFW in 2005 became the first veterans' organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial, which opened in November 2010. Annually, the nearly 2 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries contribute more than 8.6 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week. From providing over $3 million in college scholarships and savings bonds to students every year, to encouraging elevation of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the president's cabinet, the VFW is there. |
Our Post:
Our Post was chartered January 25, 1981 and was originally located on West Broadway in Oviedo. In the late-eighties we made the move to Chuluota. We maintained the Oviedo name while we called our home Chuluota until of 2014. In May of 2014 we changed our name to East Seminole County to better reflect that we are here to serve both Chuluota, Oviedo and Geneva, as well as all of East Orange and East Seminole Counties. Our Location: The Chuluota School was established on this location in 1898. It was a wooden one-room schoolhouse. In 1925 a more modern elementary school was built but was eventually closed in June, 1948. It later was the volunteer fire station, the Chuluota Community Center and was sold to our Post in the mid-nighties where we continue to serve as a community center as well as a VFW. About Chuluota: Chuluota is pronounced "Choo-lee-oh-tah", meaning "Isle of Pines", "Pine Island", or "Land of Lakes and Pines" or "beautiful place", depending upon whom you ask. The pronunciation is a derivative of the Creek Indian word "Chuluoto". Chuluota was first settled soon after the Civil War. Some of the area's first white residents were from North Carolina who came here by ox cart seeking refuge from the war, and undoubtedly encountered Seminole Indians when they arrived. They found an area teaming with fish, deer, and wild hogs. Orange groves, cattle ranches, a sawmill and turpentine production from the forests of pines were developed by settlers. A railroad provided transportation for passengers and goods. Robert A. Mills, one of the early developers of the community, is credited with choosing the lyrical Indian name of Chuluota, which was possibly the name of the original Seminole village. About 1892 the name was continued by Henry Flagler, who created the Chuluota Land Company to sell land acquired by his Florida East Coast Railroad. Chuluota was originally laid out by Flagler and his Chuluota Land Company to compete with Orlando as the center of trade in the area. Following Flagler's death, the land plats were mainly unused until the 1950s, when a post-war housing boom began to take place. The houses were generally small, and were used by working class Americans seeking affordable living. |
