The VFW of Tomorrow

The organization knows that it must evolve to survive. At Post 210 in Lakeville, they're going full-bore into the 21st century.

By DEAN SPIROS, Minneapolis Star Tribune
October 5, 2009

Lakeville's Arnold Zach knows that if his local VFW and others around the state are going to survive, they'll have to reinvent themselves.

So when Post 210, of which he is the commander, decided it needed a new building, the consensus was that it's time to build a new identity, as well. And the new model they're pursuing goes well beyond the image of an insular social club where members get together for beers and pulltabs.

The new post would include a resource center equipped with computers for veterans to access information in such areas as health care, employment and veterans benefits. The post also will hold monthly workshops to help veterans in any way possible, according to Sue Palm, a member of a committee directing the project.

"We're looking not just at a new building, but to make it the new face of what the VFW is about," Palm said. "It's a new way to look at things, to partner with members of the community who may have new ways of seeing things."

The experiment will be closely watched by other posts. "We hope to be the light for other posts to see they can exist," Zach said.

It will take about $1 million in donations to make it happen, with the hope that community members and big business will join hands to get the job done. The committee leading the charge is made up of local veterans and members of Lakeville's Warrior to Citizen program, which was established this year to aid soldiers in their return to civilian life.

Zach and other leaders also are anxious to do away with the image of the typical VFW as a place to belly up to the bar. The new facility will have an expanded and more attractive dining area, as well as a performance stage.

The goal is to retain the post's existing 304 members, which includes 93-year-old World War II veteran Ralph Pendergrass, and to add others with an emphasis on convincing veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts that their local VFW has something to offer.

An unlikely savior

Zach may seem an unlikely candidate to be the face of a group determined to save VFWs from extinction: The Vietnam veteran served two years in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), and felt the disdain of the American public upon his return. Zach, 64, takes medication for post-traumatic stress disorder, which went undiagnosed until three years ago. The effects of Agent Orange have wreaked havoc on his lungs, which before the state smoking ban left the smoke-filled VFW all but off-limits. And as a nondrinker, what reason did he really have for showing up, anyway?

Yet he's leading the charge to transform the typically cave-like Lakeville facility into the model VFW for the 21st century.

"When they built these places they built them without windows," Zach said. "What, did they want to make it a fortress? Were they afraid someone was going to attack it? Or did they want to make it just so private?"

The efforts officially kicked off last weekend, with the VFW hosting an Oktoberfest. The post celebrated its 90th anniversary Sept. 21, making it one of the oldest posts in the country.

Zach said he is considering a door-to-door campaign to find veterans who are not members.

"They're not going to come unless they are invited," he said.

Pendergrass, a Navy veteran who took part in the famed Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942, said he joined the VFW in 1946 to be "with a group of people I wanted to associate with." He regularly makes the drive to Lakeville from his home in Apple Valley (yes, he still drives) for a "short beer" that costs him 50 cents. He said he looks forward to the changes.

Upgrading to 'family-friendly'

"It needs updating," Pendergrass said of the VFW in general. "It needs to become family-friendly. For years it was basically a 'Good ol' boys club.' I don't believe in that."

Zach said Post 210 recently became debt-free, adding that things will stay that way after the remodel. The committee already has what they are referring to as "verbal commitments" from some heavyweights in the corporate world to provide financial support and other resources.

"This isn't just a pipe dream, this is real," Palm said. "We are going to make it happen. Our mission in this 90th year is to get the ball rolling and be in position to start construction next summer."

The committee has created a video that highlights the history of the Lakeville VFW and its plans for expansion. It will be used as a marketing tool to raise funds for the project.

Palm said a copy also will be sent along to the TV show "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition," to see if it might be interested in becoming involved. But the committee expects the project to remain in local hands.

"We look at it as though we are doing our own extreme makeover," Palm said. "We have skilled craftsmen and tradesmen, who I think will want to help us. We just have to give them a direction."

Dean Spiros • 952-882-9203
http://www.startribune.com/local/south/63568917.html