Nov 20, 2024
Members of VFW Post 10380 in Green Township, Ohio, attended the Harvest Home Fair Sept. 5-8. Held in Cheviot, Ohio, a suburb near Cincinnati, the fair kicked off with a three-hour parade through the city’s downtown.
While the parade was happening, VFW Post 10380 Jr. Vice Commander Ed Murphy and fellow Vietnam veteran Joe Augustine were setting up a VFW booth and preparing VFW recruitment information to distribute.
According to Murphy, Harvest Home Fair Director Donnie Becker is a member of VFW Post 10380, which has proved beneficial to the Post at the Fair.
“As always, Donnie gave us an excellent location for our booth at the fair,” Murphy added.
Harvest Home Fair admission is always free to veterans, making it a great recruiting event, according to Murphy.
“We recruited a young woman who is an Army veteran,” Murphy said. “We also had four others join along with six new applicants.”
Additionally, small U.S. flags were handed out to children who stopped at the VFW booth. Murphy said the 846 flags were prepared by Bonnie Campbell, whose husband, Dennis, is a VFW member. Each flag had an address label for VFW Post 10380 attached.
“Although we are not as successful as some other VFW Posts, it is not due to lack of effort by our 16 comrades who were at the booth all weekend,” Murphy said.
Founded in 1988, VFW Post 10380 does not have a bar or restaurant, which keeps overhead low.
“Our Post is very active in the community,” Murphy said. “We have a good reputation, and people call on us all the time.”
This article is featured in the 2024 November/December issue of Checkpoint. If you're a VFW member and don't currently receive the VFW Checkpoint, please contact VFW magazine at magazine@vfw.org.