The Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Whitehead-Muzzall Post 7392 in Oak Harbor will celebrate the return of Diane Small Saturday at 7 p.m. with a dinner in her honor.

Small is the president of the Ladies Auxiliary Depart-ment of Washing-ton, and has represented both her local auxiliary and those throughout the state of Washington on a national level for the past year.

There are 81 auxiliaries and 16 districts in the state. While in Washington, D.C., Small met with senators and representatives to discuss top issues facing veterans and their families. She got a multitude of reactions.

“From having heard of the issue and supporting it, to having me explain it to them,” Small said.

A big issue, for instance, is Army National Guard and reserve component units and their multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some units have been deployed as many as eight times.

The problem, said Small, is soldiers leave jobs to go overseas and when they return after three or four deployments, they find they’ve lost their job. National Guard members are losing their homes and being cast adrift in the country they are protecting, according to Small.

Also important to Small are the many different veteran and family support plans the auxiliary has.

One is Operation Uplink, where phone banks are installed overseas and military members can call home. Since 2006, it has connected more than five million troops and is paid for by the VFW Ladies Auxiliary.

Another is the Military Assistance program, or Unmet Needs. If a military family is having financial problems, such as not being able to pay an outstanding hospital bill or a vehicle repair, for instance, the fund will pay up to $2,500 directly to the hospital or the auto shop. The money does not have to be paid back.

The auxiliary raises money for these programs by donations from all the posts, auxiliaries and national grants.

The Oak Harbor VFW Post has approximately 1,000 members and 321 Ladies Auxiliary members.

Small joined the local VFW Ladies Auxiliary at Whitehead-Muzzall Post in 1992 and has served through six different one year-positions to get to be Department of Washington president.

Those with questions about the homecoming event can call 675-4048.

“To be able to see the people we touch and to better the lives of military veterans’ communities, it’s phenomenal,” Small said. “And the rewards come back ten-fold.”