May 15, 2013
VFW has announced the winners of the 2013 National Publications Contest. Two non-VFW-affiliated journalism professionals served as judges for the competition. This is designed to guarantee impartiality and objectivity in the judging. To reiterate, VFW staffers play no part in judging the entries.
Because all levels of VFW have seen declining membership in recent years, the small, medium and large qualifications were re-evaluated for the 2013 contest. The winning publications in each category are:
Department Publications
Large (21,500 or more members)
1st Texas VFW News
Roy Grona, Editor
2nd Illinois VFW News
Barbara Wilson, Editor
3rd VFW Wisconsin
William Knudson, Editor
Medium (10,000-21,499 members)
1st South Dakota Overseas Veteran
Dick Pickering, Editor
2nd Oklahoma Combat Veterans
Ron Gimondo, Editor
3rd The Oregon VFW News
Sue Piper, Editor
Small (9,999 or fewer members)
1st Utah VFW
Dennis Howland, Editor
2nd The Montana Veteran
Timothy C. Peters, Editor
3rd Idaho Veterans and Auxiliary News
Susan Thompson, Editor
District Publications
Large (2,600 or more members)
1st The “Fighting 6th” District News
(District 6, Minnesota)
Delphine Kelly, Editor
2nd The Broadside
(District 4, Texas)
Jim Haycraft, Editor
3rd Dispatch
(District 1, California)
Russell Eseltine, Editor
Medium (1,000-2,599 members)
1st “No One Does More For Veterans”
(District 1, Washington)
James M. Traner, Editor
2nd District 1 Commander’s Newsletter
(District 1, West Virginia)
Robert S. Kish, Editor
3rd District Untouchable News
(District 2, Illinois)
Robert J. Drzewiecki, Editor
Small (999 or fewer members)
1st Freedom Crier
(District 3, Oklahoma)
Michael A. Kennerson, Editor
2nd The Battle Cry
(District 2, Florida)
Carl J. Duncan, Editor
3rd District 2 “News Around the Sound”
(District 2, Washington)
Lois M. Mezek, Editor
Post Publications
Large (190 or more members)
1st News from the Barn
(Post 8677, Illinois)
Dale Anderson, Editor
2nd Post Intelligencer
(Post 806, Minnesota)
Patricia Okafor, Editor
3rd Newslink
(Post 7318, North Carolina)
Mary Kim Koppenhofer, Editor
Medium (80-189 members)
1st VFW Post 12024 Newsletter
(Post 12024, Texas)
Strick Strickland, Editor
2nd General Orders from the Commander
(Post 814, Illinois)
Al Harkrader, Editor
3rd The Quartermaster Page
(Post 7829, Colorado)
Bernard L. Minetti, Editor
Small (79 or fewer members)
1st VFW Post 3258 Newsletter
(Post 3258, Pennsylvania)
William Malone, Editor
2nd Veterans Views
(Post 1578, Illinois)
Bob Reichert, Editor
3rd Rodeo VFW Post 683
(Post 683, Washington)
Pat Cort, Editor