Community rallies to help local VFW

CHAMPLAIN | On the corner of St. Johns Road and Route 11, sits a bright red barn-like building. To some, this might just be one red barn in an area of many, but to the local community, it's so much more. "For a long time, this place has been kind of the center of activity for the community around here. They host all their events here, and that's really all shut down since 2020," said Anthony King, the quartermaster and adjutant for VFW Post 1418. The VFW first opened its doors 50 years ago, being awarded the Golden Anniversary Award in celebration of this momentum occasion the week of March 8. In the past 50 years, the VFW has really become a pillar to the community. From baby showers to wedding receptions, if it's a community event, the VFW has most likely hosted it at one time or another. This past year, it changed. While the VFW tried to stay open, they found that with the early on restrictions they weren't making enough money, and decided to close their doors. "We've never been a rich business, but we've maintained. We always have depended on the summer months to get through the winter months financially. Without last summer we really struggled financially this winter which is another reason we didn't open. We just didn't have the funds to pay employees to be open to not make money," King explained the decision to stay closed. Closing wasn't as cost-effective as the VFW thought it would be. During the winter they had their pipes burst, issues with the well, and all of their beer inventory had expired. "It's a lot," King summed up. As communities do, they rallied behind the VFW when they heard it was in trouble. "We've got a lot of independent donations from community members, for not only the club but the event for The Wall That Heals. People have really rallied around that." With the help of the community, the VFW was able to turn things around. "We put about 100 hours of volunteer power into this place," said King when talking about the changes the VFW has undergone. With some new paint and trim, which was donated, the VFW is looking brighter than ever. They've also redone the floors, opened the bar layout, and refinished the bar. "We refinished the bar. It was a little bit shaky and a little bit unsturdy, so we fixed all the issues there and then resurfaced it so it's shiny and slides glasses like it should," King. The Point of Sale (POS) system at the VFW was also upgraded. It's now able to accept credit and debit cards and has the capability to run a tab. Features that the VFW didn't previously have. King also mentioned that there was a new patriotic-looking drink menu on its way, as well as a new menu. "We are working on a new menu for food. Something a little bit lighter, less fried food. On our menu right now, essentially, everything goes in a fryer. So we're working on changing that and there's going to be some great sandwiches and light soups things like that, that will be on the menu." King hopes that within the next 50 years, that the VFW turns even more into a community place versus a dark bar for veterans. "The younger generations of veterans that we're trying to recruit, they have families. I've got three kids and a wife. I don't like to spend a lot of time away from them and neither does anybody else," King explained. He hopes to turn the VFW into a place where you want to bring your family. Events such as small concerts and movies in the park are hoped to happen this summer. With a hopeful opening date of April 1, the VFW is still currently closed to the public, although they are accepting bookings for private parties.

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Community rallies to help local VFW

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