‘It Really Does Take A Community’

Members of VFW Post 3378 in Yuma, Colorado, hosted their third-annual dinner gettogether for as many local veterans as they could afford on June 28.

In a community of about 3,400 residents, Post 3378 members welcomed more than 75 veterans, which also included spouses or significant others, into their Post for grilled hotdogs and hamburgers, side dishes, chilled soft drinks and dessert.

Born out of a collective desire to create an open space, a safe haven, for fellow veterans to reunite or meet one another for the first time, Post 3378 Quartermaster Adam Beauprez said the event has grown considerably since it was first started in June 2022.

"Our population is only so large, but the popularity of the event has grown greatly," Beauprez said. "The veterans really look forward to it each summer because it gives them a sense of solidarity and belonging with people who share a common thread as veterans."

Beauprez added that for this year's event, the Post purchased all their food from a local grocer and hired a local caterer to provide the side dishes and dessert. Post members also took turns grilling the meats, and some of the wives, Auxiliary members, manned the serving line.

"We had plenty to eat," he said. "Ten or so of us also pitched in to clean up afterwards. A big thanks to all that lent a hand. It really does take a community."

Though next year the Post leadership is considering moving the event from the last Friday of June to the last of July, according to Beauprez, he added that keeping this annual tradition going is an important part of what VFW aspires to do.

"Next year we might move it just to see if we capture a different group who have been unable to attend for whatever reason in June," Beauprez said. "Part of the mission of the VFW is to foster camaraderie, and that is what we set out to continue to do here."

This article is featured in the 2024 July/August issue of VFW Checkpoint.

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