NEW POST NOW AN ALL-STATE POST
ROCKY HILL, CONN. (JUNE 10, 2017)—A new Elm City veterans group has won a prestigious award for a second-consecutive year while receiving state-wide recognition as a leading post.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars New Haven Post 12150 was named a 2017 All-State Post and recieved the Past Commander-In-Chief “Pistol” Pete Walker award for the largest numerical gain of new members. Awarded on June 10, 2017 at the Department of Connecticut VFW State Convention at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel, the two-year old group took top honors over 107 other posts in the state for a second year in a row.
Past Post Commander Charles M. Pickett said receiving the two honors was a culmination of two-years of effort by the service organization of mostly Post-9/11 veterans. Pickett said, “We were chartered in September 2015, we successfully established and completed a dozen VFW charitable, educational, and patriotic programs, and through our outreach efforts, we reinvigorated the veteran community in the greater New Haven region.”
With 85 members, the VFW New Haven post has become the largest veterans service organization in the city and surrounding towns. It is the fastest growing post in Connecticut, doubling in size in their initial two years. In December 2016, the post launched an All-American Membership Drive in an effort to reach out to more of the 48,000 estimated veterans in the greater New Haven region through direct contact and social #VetEvents.
Pickett said the “can do” spirit of the VFW New Haven members, the All-American Drive, utilizing the “friends network,” and fulfilling the core mission of the VFW—bringing veterans together, looking out for each other, and continuing to serve our country—were principle factors in the early success of the post. Pickett additionally credited community partners such as the Knights of St. Patrick, New Haven Elks Lodge #20, and the Trinity Bar & Restaurant in helping foster the post and fulfill their charitable programs such as the annual New Haven Kick for Nick Night in October.
