Lakeville VFW Veterans Still Fighting

When the Lakeville VFW faced closure three years ago, current Post 210 commander Arnold Zach decided it was time fight. The Vietnam veteran felt the post, founded in 1919, just needed some new blood.

Despite declining membership nationwide, combined with a rash of post closings, Zach felt there was too much history and too much good to be done in the future to simply allow the Lakeville post to follow suit. Feeling the post needed new leadership, he volunteered to become commander at that time and has sought to lead an effort to make the VFW vital once again.

“My wife said, ‘Why do you want to do that? You don’t even drink or smoke’,” recalled Zach of her reaction to his decision.

Zach knew then that stereotypes would need to be changed in order to alter external, and internal, perceptions of what the VFW is.

“There’s so much history down here and the community doesn’t even know it,” he said. “Even though we’ve been here for years, people still think we’re a private club.”

Zach hasn’t shied away from the challenge and, despite minimal internal support - even resistance at times - has forged ahead with a vision he feels can revitalize the 91-year old downtown post.

And a young, physically-challenged army veteran that has conquered his own struggle is his biggest ally.

About the VFW

The national Veterans of Foreign Wars organization dates back to 1899 and was formed by returning veterans of the Spanish-American war who returned home from that conflict and found little support or services to help them with medical issues or begin a new non-military life.

Charters began sprouting up, Lakeville Post 210 among them, and membership quickly blossomed to about 200,000 members nationwide in the years leading up to WWII.

Nationally, VFW membership peaked at about 2.17 million members in 1992. Since then, the organization has seen more than a 31 percent decline in membership to about 1.49 at the end of 2010. As more than 1,000 aging WWII veterans die each day across the country, the organization has struggled to recruit younger members from recent conflicts such as the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The trend mirrors statewide figures as Minnesota is currently averaging two post closings a year. Minneapolis is down to just one VFW facility from a peak of 24. Currently there are 254 VFW posts operating in Minnesota, though the state office points out that approximately 65 percent of those posts don’t own real estate and instead operate out of libraries or other public meeting locations.

Also contributing to a lack of younger members is that many Vietnam veterans, Zach included, were reluctant to join after feeling shunned by some older members upon their return home after that conflict. Zach said many VFW members at the time didn’t consider it a “real war” and disapproved of their service, seemingly in direct conflict to the organization’s roots.

Despite the internal issues, the national organization became a force behind programs many veteran’s assistance programs while also functioning as community boosters similar to many Lion’s Club or Rotary Clubs.

Among other things, the Lakeville post is responsible for providing the Lakeville Police Department with their first K-9 unit and donating to the Meals on Wheels campaign through the city.

But their days of serving as defacto community centers and being relevant are in danger of disappearing. And if Lakeville’s Post 210 doesn’t change with the times, they too will be forced to close their doors.

Recruiting New Members

Zach is attempting to change public perceptions of the VFW as a dingy, dark, smoky watering hole as well as recruit younger members from recent conflicts to propel the local post forward.

It has proven to be difficult.

“Some people don’t think change is good, “says Jen Agan, who became a member after moving to Lakeville seven years ago. Agan, along with her husband Jeff, a Sergeant First Class with the 79th Military Police Company out of Rochester, are part the younger  generation of veterans Zach is trying to attract to keep the Lakeville post operating.

Agan joined the post during one of her husband’s multiple deployments as a way to connect with other people while her husband was away.

“When I joined I was far and away the youngest member, by leaps and bounds the youngest member,” she said. “I wanted to find a place where I could go where people kind of get what it’s like being a spouse of someone who’s deployed. I’m not the kind of person that would normally go out to lunch by themselves, but here, it’s comforting.”

Plus, she added, “they have a good lunch.”

Agan and her husband have become lifetime members but she has noticed the struggle Zach faces in revitalizing the post that has helped her through some difficult times.

“The trouble is that there’s a resistance to change,” she said. “It’s frustrating.”

Another road block to recruiting members and growing the post is letting returning service personnel know they are welcome, as well as the general public.

“It’s difficult because of privacy laws,” says Zach about the post’s ability to contact eligible members. “There are so many people we could help, but nobody knows it.”

Zach says the post is getting some new members from people moving into the community, but there could be many more if it was easier to contact service personnel directly.

“Nobody is out there asking people to join,” he says. “The veterans I talk to say nobody has ever asked them join before. But when asked, they do.”

A program called Beyond The Yellow Ribbon, a reincarnation of the Warriors to Citizens campaign started by the Farmington VFW, is helping.

“Some of the churches have gotten involved, as well as the city, and that’s made finding the returning veterans a little easier,” said Zach.

Changing Public Perceptions

“We’re trying to be a good neighbor and get the community coming in,” said Zach. “It’s hard because of this stigma that’s out there, but really, it’s kind of like a neighborhood ‘Cheers’ bar.”

That stigma is one of a place where a bunch of old guys sit around and drink in a cloud of smoke all day. A visit on a recent lunch hour revealed a different story.

The Lakeville VFW was set nicely for lunch, complete with white placemats and napkins laid out at the ready. An area band was setting up to provide some fun after-lunch entertainment and the only wisp of smoke to be found was made by the grill in the kitchen.

“We’re pretty family friendly,” said Agan.

Improvements have been made that include fresh paint to brighten things up and replacing worn and tattered chairs.

The kitchen is open for lunch daily except Saturdays and features a revolving menu.  A Sunday Brunch is gaining in popularity with the after-church crowd.

“We make the omelet’s to order,” said Zach. “They’re real fluffy. More people are finding out about it. It’s helped.”

Other promotions include a fish fry every Friday and a steak fry once a month.

“We’re definitely community oriented and not profit oriented,” he said. “That should maybe switch around because we’re not doing real well financially right now. But with a facility like this, we should be doing a lot better.”

Plan for the Future

Zach envisions a thriving Lakeville VFW that is a vital community resource as well as a place that can be of value to the younger generation of veterans. His goals for the club include expanding the back banquet and meeting room that currently seats about 160 guests in order to attract more weddings and public functions. Additional bathrooms, and a computer lab and veteran’s resource center are also on the wish list. Maybe even a cozy fireplace to provide a warm glow to surf the internet by.

Zach feels updating the technology in the club will help attract younger veterans and additional building improvements will help change public perceptions even more.

“Basically, if we could bring in a full-time cook and these other things I think we could really turn this place around big time,” Zach said.

Zach estimates the project will cost approximately $200,000 with much of the work coming from within.

“I’d like this to be a real veteran’s project,” he said. “We’ve got some talented people around here that are able to do a lot of the work. We just need the money to do it. We haven’t had a lot of backing so far.”

Darren Campion Champions the Cause

The project has found backing from one younger member of the post.

Darren Campion graduated from Lakeville High School in 1993 and went on to the prestigious West Point Military Academy to become a rising star in the military ranks. After tours of duty in Bosnia and Panama as an elite Army Ranger, the young veteran was tragically attacked in Wisconsin in 1999.

A confrontation while being assaulted at knife and gun point resulted in Campion sustaining a traumatic brain injury and suffering a stroke which left him with severe asphasia and paralysis on the left side of his body. Asphasia is a condition that severely limits his ability to communicate but does not affect his cognitive abilities.

True to his training and elite military background, Campion has fought to overcome his disadvantages and has maintained an active lifestyle. He has served as a volunteer swimming coach for both Lakeville High Schools and the Courage Center and regularly participates in marathons, triathlons and other physical endurance events to raise money for various causes.

In recent summers he could be seen taking on Buck Hill with a 70-pound rucksack on his back.

Campion will be traveling to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico later this month to take part in the 22nd annual Bataan Memorial Death March, a 26.2-mile remembering of the forced walked that WWII veterans endured after being captured by Japanese soldiers in the Philippines.

Campion is undertaking the current effort to raise awareness for the Lakeville VFW and is donating all of his proceeds to toward construction and improvements for the post.

“He wanted to commit to this, he’s a real go-getter,” says Zach of Campion. “I offered to name the new wing after him but he’s not in it for the glory. He’s in it for the veterans.”

The , 14658 Cedar Avenue South, is taking part in the efforts by holding a fund-raising event on Wednesday, March 9th. As part of the promotion, the restaurant is donating 10% of their sales from 5pm to 9pm to Campion’s efforts. A certificate must be provided to the cashier or server at the time of purchase to qualify.

Other donations are being taken through Campion’s website which also has more information on his story and efforts.

You can visit Lakeville VFW Post 210 at 20195 Holyoke Avenue in downtown Lakeville. For more information call 952-469-5717.