Most of you know me as the Commander of VFW Post 1 here in Denver. Since 2003, I and many others have worked hard to change the image of what a VFW is, what a Post should do in service of Veterans and the community and how a VSO can serve as the bridge between Veterans and the community around them. I’m happy to say it has been an amazing success and now serves as a role model for other Posts around the country.
Recently, I was encouraged by the past Department (State) of Colorado Commander of the American Legion and our Department Adjutant to see if the same could be done for the Legion. As I have said to many folks, my heart is always with Post 1 of the VFW but personally, I see a lot more opportunity to impact change at the Department and National levels of the Legion than I do with the VFW. Challenge accepted.
This past weekend, 8 of my fellow Vets met in person and 2 by phone met to form a brand new Legion Post in Colorado - Post 5280: The Mile High Post.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised that no one had taken that number already. As a Colorado Native with an admitted prejudice against against areas below 3,000 feet, I figured someone would have taken it. Luckily not and so our new Post was born.
Much like Post 1, we are more committed to focusing on issues and building bridges in the community rather than focusing on what has become the traditional image of the Legion and any VSO - cranky old guys, wearing funny hats, sitting in dark smoky bars, drinking and not integrating with the community around them. Not all are like this but let’s be honest, this is our image.
Over the past year, my job with Novation Networks has taken me to over 200 VSOs around the country as lay the ground work for the roll-out of 5G wireless infrastructure. I have seen many dynamic Posts which are making changes and these locations are warm and inviting. These Posts provide a platform for Veterans to continue their service - this time to the communities they serve - and create a new image of our Vet orgs. Sadly, Posts like this are the exception rather than the rule.
One of our goals at Post 5280 is to help make the positive image of VSOs the rule rather than the exception. We won’t have a bar (though most of us like a good drink) or a building (VFW Post 1 was very inviting to us to so we can hold our meetings there) but we will instead focus on the ever-evolving issues our communities, Nation and our fellow Veterans face. I hope to Post a lot more news about what we have going on and I invite any of you to join our efforts.
First meeting of Post 5280 - Me, Amber, Sarah, Sarah, Teresa, Dan and Terri