All members of Leland VFW Post 12196 are invited to join us to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of our Charter. The event will occur at Blossoms Restaurant at 6 pm on January 18, 2023. Please RSVP before January 1. Contact us at [email protected] to reserve a seat(s).
The Post was Chartered by then-Department Commander Craig Armstrong on January 19, 2020. Below is an article written by Charter Member Eric Mens that documents the founding of Post 12196.
From the Birth of an Idea to Reality – by Eric Mens, January 23, 2020
Former Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) member, Gerald Decker, moved to Leland, North Carolina (NC) in November 2016 after the birth of his first Grandchild. Gerald and his wife Patty previously resided in Carlton, Georgia (GA) where he served as Post Commander of VFW Post 5456 in Elberton, GA. Upon his arrival to Leland, Gerald was focused on the birth of his new grandchild. Four years later, he would be the driving force behind establishing Post 12196.
Leland, with a history dating to the 1800’s, is located in North Brunswick County – a quick commute over the Cape Fear River to Wilmington, NC. In 2016, Leland was still in the early stages of its development boom. Today, Brunswick County is the fastest growing county in North Carolina. A recently released U.S. Census Bureau report revealed, that as of July 1, 2018, Brunswick County had experienced the largest population growth of all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, with an increase of 4.6 percent from 2017 to 2018. It also ranked fourth in the entire nation for percentage growth for counties with populations of 20,000 or more.
The VFW already has a presence in the Cape Fear Region. The City of Wilmington is home to VFW Post 2573 and further south is Boiling Springs, home of VFW Post 10400. Craig Armstrong, Commander of the North Carolina Department of Veterans of Foreign Wars, recently described Brunswick County as, “…the county with more veterans than any other county in North Carolina…an ideal place to strengthen partnerships with veterans and the community.” The establishment of the Post and its service-oriented mission is well in keeping with Commander Armstrong’s theme of “New Beginnings.”
As the growth in the community continued, Gerald saw a growing need to establish a VFW Post to serve the veterans moving into the county as well as veterans who lived in the small towns throughout North Brunswick County. On September 30, 2019 he contacted Commander Armstrong and asked about the feasibility of establishing a Post in Leland. Just a week later in October, he was granted permission to move forward on his efforts to start a new Post. A small advertisement placed in the local county paper, the Brunswick Beacon, drew interest from over two dozen individuals and further convinced him that he was indeed on the right track in pursuing his goal.
By mid-October 2019, after he initiated a membership drive at an informal “meet and greet” at a local coffee shop, Gerald had succeeded in recruiting twelve members – seven transfer members and five new members. Over the ensuing month, he and several recruits participated in events at local retail establishments to publicize the up-and-coming VFW Post as well as to recruit additional members. These events included the Dedication Ceremony of a Veterans Memorial in neighboring Belville and attending a Veterans Breakfast sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. The number of interested veterans continued to grow.
On November 19th, 2019, the group held its first organizational meeting in The Forest Dining Room of the Brunswick Forest Golf Plantation to discuss the continuing need to recruit a sufficient number of members to allow the Post to receive an official VFW Charter. During this meeting, and many others where Gerald serves his community, he continued to stress that the Post would be a “Boots on the Ground” organization actively involved with veterans in the community and other like-minded organizations in Brunswick County and the surrounding area. He would repeatedly remind the veterans that, “We are “Boots on the Ground” – we are apolitical – and we are service oriented!”
Gerald, a Vietnam Veteran, also recognized the need to attract young members to the VFW and, in particular, 21st Century warriors who would step up to leadership roles within the Post. On Sunday, January 20th, Commander Armstrong, and several officers representing the Department, including Region 5 Commander Bischon Bush, swore in members of the newly chartered Post 12196 Leland in a formal ceremony that saw well over 40 individuals and their spouses in attendance.
Sworn in as Post 12196 Officers were Sean Parrish, Post Commander; Gerald Decker, Senior Vice Commander; Kirk Paulson, Junior Vice Commander; and Don Spaulding, Quartermaster. Parrish and Paulson represent the next generation as recent Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans of Afghanistan, while Decker and Spaulding are both Vietnam Veterans. Serving in other leadership roles are Judge Advocate John Hacker; Surgeon Eric Mens; Service Officer Richard de Moya; Trustees – Tom Walker, Dominick Calderone, Jr., and John Marone; and Sergeant at Arms Bill Smith.
Newly elected Leland Town Councilwoman and newly sworn VFW member Veronica Carter read a written statement at the ceremony from Leland’s Mayor, Brenda Bozeman, who was unable to attend. Mayor Bozeman, whose family has a long history of military service, has been a longtime supporter of veteran organizations and programs. Dale Todd, Commander of American Legion Post 68 of Leland, attended and welcomed VFW Post 12196 to the community.
As of the date of this story, Post Membership totals 40 men and women. For further information about Post 12196 please visit its Facebook Page at VFW Post 12196 Leland NC. The Post can also be contacted at: VFW Post 12196 Leland, P. O. Box 488, Leland, NC 28451; Phone (910) 408-1934 or by email to [email protected].