The quartermaster of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3111 wants people to know that their building is for sale, but they’d also like community support to stay open. The post home at 504 South Washington St. was the site of Thursday’s Great Bend Chamber Coffee.
Brad Shirer was the Chamber host and Mike Harbaugh, post quartermaster, gave the program on the Great Bend VFW.
The VFW was established in the 1940s to offer services to veterans. There is a service officer who usually comes twice a month to help veterans get disability assistance through the Veterans Administration (VA), as well as other services.
“The VFW is based around volunteers and people coming in volunteering. We have an auxiliary where you have to have had a parent or a grandparent serve in a foreign war. To be a part of the post, you actually had to be in a conflict in a foreign war,” Harbaugh noted.
With a dwindling membership, Harbaugh noted, “We’ve got to the point financially to where we can’t sustain anymore, so we’ve had to put the building up for sale with hopes that somebody can purchase the building and lease it back to us. If that doesn’t happen, this VFW will probably cease to exist.”
There is a problem in getting people to come in and help. Anyone interested in exploring options to volunteer can call the VFW and leave a message on their machine. The telephone number is 620-792-2754.
The facility is now open to the public. The liquor license was changed so that non-members can come into the VFW.
“We did that hoping that we could get people to come enjoy our facility,” Harbaugh said.
They have a lot to offer the community. There is a brunch on the third Sunday of each month, although there won’t be one in July. They’ve had hamburger nights, karaoke, and dances with bands playing. They have tournaments for corn hole and darts. They also rent out the facility for parties, graduations, and meetings with WiFi capability.
A corn hole tournament to benefit the family of Ryder Schmidt is planned for Aug. 3. Watch the post's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/vfwpost311 for more information.
The VFW is open Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to closing time (which varies).
Chamber announcements
• The new Ellinwood Hospital and Clinic is now open for business. Patients were transferred over on July 11 and clinic services opened July 15.
• The Ellinwood After Harvest Festival started this week and continues on Saturday, July 20.
• Barton Community College’s Performing Arts department is bringing the Nutcracker to town this fall. The intent is to use local dancers from the college as well as from community and local dance studios. Starting Aug. 8, there will be a series of master classes to help those who might be interested in joining the production. To enter the class, the student must be at least 10 years old with at least two years of dance experience. The cost is $10 per class. Check out the Barton Community College Performing Arts webpage for more information.
• The next coffee will be July 25 at the Best Western Angus Inn, hosted by the Barton Community College Foundation. The Foundation’s Big Benefit Auction is Aug. 24 at the Great Bend Events Center and the last day to purchase tickets is Aug. 12.
By Becky Gillette/Great Bend Tribune
