From Service to Solidarity: IBEW Vets Answer the Call

Local 11 Director of Veterans Affairs Mike Kufchack and Veterans Committee Chairman Wayne Ashby heeded the call when one of their IBEW – and veteran – brothers lost his garage and everything in it to the Eaton Fire.

The Eaton Fire burned Don Eckvahl’s garage to the ground, as it did to his neighbor’s home. Eckvahl’s home, thankfully, was more or less untouched.

“It’s just incredible that his house is still standing with the garage right next to it,” Kufchack said.

Ashby and Kufchak organized a group of about a dozen IBEW veterans to clean up Eckvahl’s front and back yards and sift through the garage ashes.

“We just took matters into our own hands there,” Kufchack said. “And I tell you, at the end of the day, we left Don Eckvahl’s with the greatest smile on his face. It really made us feel good about what we did.”

Eckvahl was one of the organizers of a group of Local 11 vets that helped renovate the VFW hall in Azusa last Veterans Day.

“It’s veterans helping veterans, and we take care of each other,” Kufchak said. “We share a common bond. We share hardship together, but more importantly, we share relationships over the course of our military careers. You know, that old adage of no man left behind? Our veteran community carries those same values in the IBEW now.”