Broadus VFW Post 1595 has been expanding its numbers, with a 21% increase in membership over the last year, according to Post Commander Mike Richards. That makes the Broadus post the largest growing post, by percentage, in the state of Montana for 2018. With that distinction, the Broadus post is set to become an “All State” Post, a distinction which was last held in 1988, according to Richard’s research. Membership at the post currently stands at 45 members, and if the post is able to recruit 6 more members, the post will likely make “All American” honors, which is an honor Post 1595 has not received. “We’re always looking for more folks. We’ve had some great folks join up, and we help out with a lot of the paperwork in dealing with Veteran’s Affairs,” Richards said.
The Post will also help pay for new memberships, for those looking to give the VFW a try, Richards noted.
Post 1595 has two youth writing and speech competitions lined up for this year, the winners of which will receive a cash prize, and the potential for scholarships and a trip to Washington, DC.
The Voice of Democracy contest, a long standing tradition which has been won at the state level by several area youth over the years, is taking place now, with a November 1st deadline. Students in 9th-12th grades write a response to the prompt “Why My Vote Matters”.
The students then record an audio speech, and the local VFW members (without knowing which student did which speech) vote on what they consider to be the best speeches, narrowing the vote down to five speeches. These speeches then go to a district board, which consists of VFW members from Broadus, Ekalaka, Glendive, Jordan, Miles City, and Forsyth. This committee votes on one speech to go on to State, and the winner their goes to the National competition. The winners locally will win a prize, while state winners win $1000 and the national winner receives a $30,000 scholarship.
The Patriot’s Pen writing contest is geared simarily to the Voice of Democracy, but is geared towards students in 6-8th grades, and is composed solely of a writing contest. The national first place winner receives $5000.
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