The 2024 Department of Washington Mid-Winter Conference will be taking place at the Wenatchee Convention Center on January 18-21. This is an event where VFW Post and Auxiliary members from across the state of Washington gather to give and receive training, to provide state-level committee updates, and to honor our Voice of Democracy winners from each District and announce our state winner. It is also a great time to network and connect with your fellow members from other Posts and Districts to learn about what they have going on (inspiration, anyone?).
While this event spans a total of 3 days, most of the relevant activities will be on Friday and Saturday. The first full day, Friday, is dedicated to training and workshops, covering topics such as Community Service, Membership and Recruiting, Scouting and other Programs, as well as some training for specific positions such as Service Officers and Quartermasters. If you are interested in learning more about any of these topics, especially if you have considered stepping up into a leadership position, you may want to make some time on Friday to attend one of these trainings.
Saturday is the primary Business day of the convention. Post and Auxiliary will have a shared opening in the morning, including comments from Commander and President as well as presenting any Department level awards. After a break, the Post and Auxiliary will break into their separate business sessions where department-level program chairpersons will give a short brief on the status of their programs and progress made at the midpoint of the 2023-2024 VFW year. Typically business is concluded by about 3pm, giving us time for networking before the Banquet.
The Conference concludes on Saturday night with a banquet to honor all District VOD winners from around the state. The Department VOD winner will be announced and they’ll read their winning speech. Our District 7 representative to this competition is high school senior Sofia Nicholson from Cle Elum. The state winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C in March to visit our Congress, tour the National Monuments, and meet with other state winners of the VOD competition.
The exact schedule for this conference will be made available once it is finalized. If you haven’t attended a Department Mid-Winter or Summer Convention, we invite you to drop in and check it out. You can come and go at any time. Just remember the only head cover allowed in the conference room is your VFW Member Cap (no ball caps). Also, please remember to sign in at the registration table on the District 7 Roster.
Can’t make it to this one but want to be involved with Department Convention in the near future? You’re in luck! The Summer Conference, at the end of the 2024-25 year, will be right here in Wenatchee in June of 2025. The summer convention is typically a bit longer as it is the end-of-year meeting with business including presenting awards, installation of the incoming officers, and much more.
