The VFW Post 3137 Auxiliary hosted the U.S. Coast Guard Base-Charleston on Oct. 9 for the third annual cornhole tournament.
Sixty Coasties enjoyed a spirited tournament of cornhole, with bragging rights. The winning team was “Hole Patrol” , consisting of members Wyatt Bess and Justin Resseguie. The runner-up team was “Shut your Cornhole” with Jackson Ludwig and Michael Strahlendors throwing the cornhole bags. The winning teams received celebratory prizes. Raffle prizes were also provided to many of the participants. All of the Coasties, their family members and volunteers enjoyed bagels for breakfast, and hamburgers and hot dogs for the luncheon, prepared by John Taylor, bar manager of the VFW Post.
The coordinators for the event were Bob Patterson, current Patriotic Instructor, and George Page, past VFW Auxiliary President. Patterson served in the Coast Guard from 1976 to 1982.
The current Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Base- Charleston is Captain Matthew Kempe. The Executive Officer/Commander Jason Erickson; Command Master Chief Timothy Jenkins; Morale President Bradley Bullington and Megan Santos, administrative assistant for the Commanding Officer, attended the day of rest and relaxation at the Post on the Coast. Matthew Kulesza, chief warrant officer, was the Morale Officer in charge of this event for the Coast Guard family.
Commander Erickson stated that the U. S. Coast Guard Base-Charleston currently has a workforce of 260 members, with a presence on both the Ashley and Cooper rivers. The Base supports 11 local tenant units, including seven major commands. Major Coast Guard cutters stationed in Charleston are the Stone, the Hamilton, the James and the Calhoun. Two smaller cutters also call Charleston their home port — the Kingfisher and the Anvil. The primary mission of the Charleston base is to provide depot level mission support functions to local operational partners. Charleston will eventually be the home of several more major cutters and the future center of operational gravity on the East Coast.
Charleston was recently recognized as a Coast Guard City, underscoring the community’s longstanding support for Coast Guard members and their families. Charleston is one of 37 communities across the multiple states and counties to receive this honorary designation from the U.S. Coast Guard. The designation is awarded to municipalities that provide special support and promote morale for Coast Guard personnel and their families. The first city designated as a Coast Guard City was Grand Haven, Michigan on November 13, 1998.
