Tri-County Veterans Stand Down needs help

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

A significant infusion of volunteers needed to ensure that it continues BY CHRIS COWBROUGH S-E Editor     If the cornerstone of any community worth its civic pride is volunteerism, then realize too that the spirit of volunteer¬ism can get weary of soldiering on.     So it goes with the “man hours” behind organizing the eminently successful Tri-County Veterans’ Stand Down.  The Stand Down at the North¬east Washington Fairgrounds has been a nearly decade-long rite of fall for thousands of vet¬erans from around the North¬west and Canada who have taken ad¬vantage of a myriad number of its services.     But according to some of the people who have worked to make sure that the Stand Down continues to be a local mainstay, its existence is in jeopardy.     “We are in terrible need of volunteers,”  Stand Down Pub¬lic Information Officer Doll Linton says.  “The Stand Down may have had its final year of giving back to those who have given so much (vet¬erans).”     A meeting to discuss the fu¬ture of the Stand Down will be held Tuesday, Feb. 13 at the VFW Hall in Colville.  The meeting will start at 6 p.m.     If key positions aren’t filled that night, then the local Stand Down may be relegated to his¬tory. ‘…veterans just aren’t getting any younger.’     According to current Stand Down Chairman Larry Ussery, a new chairman, secretary and board member need to be elected at that meeting or the local Stand Down will likely be relegated to the scrap heap.      “The problem is that most of the Stand Down people who started this nine years ago are older veterans,”  Ussery ex¬plained.  “None of us are get¬ting any younger…and we just aren’t getting any younger vets to fill the void and step up.”     Ussery, who has been in¬volved in one capacity or an¬other for seven Stand Downs, says physical issues mean that he won’t be able to  con¬tinue.     “And there are other guys in the same position.”     The Stand Down concept, which was inaugurated back in 1988 by two military veter¬ans in San Diego, CA, is held at nearly 100 sites nationally each year.  Veterans and their dependents are typically able to access a variety of services, from help with the processing of VA claims  to health serv¬ices.  Access to free surplus clothing has also been a popu¬lar attraction, along with the VA Mobile Clinic and women’s health services.     “We just need help to keep it going,”  added Linton, who said the Stand Down has be¬come an important part of the local community fabric.  “This is a vital community project that has helped thousands of people over the years.  It would be a shame to see it end.”     Linton said that positions need to be filled by “dedicated people who can continue to provide guid¬ance, energy, ideas, coordina¬tion and orga¬nization.  We have enough people who can help run the Stand Down itself.  We just need the core, organiza¬tional people. Tri-County Stand Down one of the best     “These are the people who need to step forward.”     Ussery says it would be a shame to see one of the na¬tion’s most successful Stand Downs fold.     “Those grants you fight so hard to get just aren’t that easy to acquire,” Ussery said of the funding that helps to underwrite and sustain the annual Stand Downs locally.  “You dissolve the organization and you probably won’t get those back.”     Ussery, who says that Colville’s two-day Stand Down is one of the top events of its kind in the nation.  The 2006 Stand Down served 1,043 vet¬erans and dependents.       “This is something that is vital to the community and has helped a lot of people,” he said.  “We just need more help.”

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 07 February 2007 )