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Summit Pacific hosts Veterans Day luncheon

Published 1:30 am Monday, November 10, 2025

By Andrea Watts The Daily World

Andrea Watts photos / The Daily World Presentation of Colors was by JBLM Unit 13 FAR (Field Artillery Regiment): 1st Sgt. Poe, Sgt. Pacheo, Spc. Mendoza, and Spc. Patton. Francheska Poe, a member of Summit Pacific’s HR team, asked her husband if they could do the Presentation of Colors and command approved it. They saw it as a great way to get into the community and represent, she said.
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Andrea Watts photos / The Daily World

Presentation of Colors was by JBLM Unit 13 FAR (Field Artillery Regiment): 1st Sgt. Poe, Sgt. Pacheo, Spc. Mendoza, and Spc. Patton. Francheska Poe, a member of Summit Pacific’s HR team, asked her husband if they could do the Presentation of Colors and command approved it. They saw it as a great way to get into the community and represent, she said.

Andrea Watts photos / The Daily World Presentation of Colors was by JBLM Unit 13 FAR (Field Artillery Regiment): 1st Sgt. Poe, Sgt. Pacheo, Spc. Mendoza, and Spc. Patton. Francheska Poe, a member of Summit Pacific’s HR team, asked her husband if they could do the Presentation of Colors and command approved it. They saw it as a great way to get into the community and represent, she said.
On Nov. 7, Summit Pacific held a Veterans luncheon that was open to Summit Pacific Veteran employees and community Veterans. This is the fifth year Summit Pacific has hosted the luncheon.

For five years, Summit Pacific Medical Center has hosted a Veterans Day luncheon for their employees, and this year’s luncheon, held on Nov. 7, was opened to community veterans.

Veterans could drop by between noon to 2 p.m. for a buffet-style lunch, but the room was filled by noon for the Presentation of Colors by the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Unit 13 FAR (Field Artillery Regiment).

Chef Trisha Werdahl, an U.S. Army veteran, started the luncheon tradition. In her welcoming remarks, Werdahl thanked Summit Pacific Medical Foundation, Summit Pacific Spirit Team, Ashleigh Gleeson, and Francheska Poe for their support in hosting the luncheon.

“Today is all about you guys,” Werdahl said to the veterans in attendance. “Too often people forget what service means for you. It takes incredible courage to raise your hand and say, ‘I will go.’ It takes selflessness to leave behind your home, your family, and your comfort to stand for something greater than you. It doesn’t matter whether you served overseas or stateside, you still make the choice to step forward knowing what the risks could have been.”

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