News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A continuing decline in active members may force the Overton County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post to shut down.
Newly Elected VFW Commander Jerry Greer said he accepted the position to try and keep the post alive.
“We need to get our active members back involved,” Greer said. “There are about six or eight of us that are active, and we are trying to save the post from keeping it from closing down.”
Greer said the post will be forced to turn in its charter to the state headquarters if members do not start accepting offices and begin to participate. The organization is also selling its first and second floor offices on West Henson Street due to lack of funds.
“You have to have a lot of active members and fund raisers to maintain that building,” Greer said. “The members before us walked away and let it go. We had rentals in the second floor, and all of them but one have left. You still have to pay your bills. We are going to sell our share of that building.”
The VFW has asked the Freemasonry on the top floor to buy its portion of the building. Greer said the post owes the Masons around $9,000 for repairing the buildings roof.
“The heat, utilities and lights, we do not have the funds to keep them on,” Greer said. “We are selling the building to get out of that. We can still hold meetings at the library or restaurants. You do not actually have to have a building to have a VFW.”
Greer said the VFW currently has about 90 lifetime members but do not gain revenue since members pay a onetime payment.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, guard and reserve forces.
