New opportunities

In May of this year, Blaine Brooks was elected as the Commander of the Waseca Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1642, also known as the Sweet-Sommers Post.

“I was one of the nominees, and I took office in June,” he explains.

Brooks grew up in the community of Meriden. His journey in the armed forces started when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1968, serving during the Vietnam War until his honorable discharge in 1974.

Brooks was originally a member of the Owatonna VFW when a friend got him to join in Waseca. He has been an active member of Waseca’s VFW since 2015.

The way the VFW is structured is they have elected positions: Commander, senior vice commander, junior vice commander, quartermaster, and three trustees. These elected officials appoint members to other positions.

“I was senior vice commander for three years,” Brooks explains. “I also served as the surgeon, which is an appointed position within the club.

“I initially joined the VFW to be part of the honor guard,” he continues. “I’ve been on that for seven to eight years and served as an Assistant Sergeant of Arms. When the Sergeant of Arms cannot make it, I do his duties.”

With the list of titles he’s held in Waseca for the past few years, it’s no surprise that he was elected as the VFW commander. He took over the position from Dennis Paulson who was the previous commander for five years. He will serve a one-year term.

A significant portion of Brooks’ work is running the meetings. “I’m in charge of them,” he states. “The quartermaster and I are in charge of anything we pay out.”

Another part of his job is representing the post at VFW district meetings. “I also attend a few conference including one this fall and another one on the state level.

“We also receive general orders monthly,” he adds. “The orders include things that the state and national VFWs want us to accomplish, new laws, and things like that.”

But the most fulfilling part of his job is helping his community. “Part of my job is helping set up fundraisers for different things we support in the county,” he states. “We support just about everything that goes on from the caregiver services to youth baseball. And when we do events like breakfasts, they always get a portion of the funds raised.”

The Waseca VFW adds that they usually take a bit of a break because most of the events are based on volunteer work. “We need a certain number in the kitchen to do breakfasts and things like that. Otherwise, we are busy from September until late spring.”

Brooks wants to help the VFW receive more recognition during his time as commander. That includes getting more people involved, something that seems more difficult as days go by.

“Right now, the average age is all Vietnam Era that is doing all this stuff,” he explains. “I recognize why younger people aren’t getting more involved. It’s the same reason I didn’t right away: raising the family. We get busy. When my son was in hockey, I was the coach. I was too busy coaching to support the hockey club through the VFW. You just don’t have the time to come into the club.”

He remains hopeful and states a goal is to get some more Gulf War and Afghanistan war veterans to join. “We’re trying to get the in so they can support the youth. We understand they can’t come to every meeting. If you can come and help out one weekend a month, that’s all we ask.

“There are really no requirements to join,” he continues. “We have sixteen in our group. If we had four more, we’d have enough.”

Waseca’s VFW plays a vital role in the local community, but it also serves as part of a memorial rifle squad for Preston, a town in the southeastern part of the state. It’s events like those along with the close-knit atmosphere of the club that they are relying on to garner interest.

“We hope to promote the health and growth of the whole club,” Brooks says.