May 25th for eagle's landing

That will be just in time for my bday68 celebration!

We had real progress at the Two First Posts meeting tonight, and that was good, it was very good.

I felt vindicated in what I'd said at the last meeting.

We had all been asked why we wanted Mike and Kat here.

I'd been the only one to speak up.

"We're just glad that [Kozik and Hancock] want to take it on, because none of us want to do it and none of us have experience doing any of this."  

By the end of that meeting, it looked like we'd slid backwards toward an abyss of indecision.

Not so from the very start tonight!!!

I still feel that I've missed some talks somewhere along the way, but it was clear from the outset that the two Post Commanders - Doug Andrews and Eddie Patterson, Jr. - had been conversing and want Mike and Kat at the helm of the kitchen and bar operations.

Hallelujah!!!

They must have felt as frustrated as I had two weeks ago.

We've all been waiting so long for this place to open.

It's been more than a year ago that the remodeling began.

It's been right at a year ago that several of us came to check out the work and realized that an opening date was still months away.

Now, that date has been determined: May 25, 2026, just in time for the Memorial Day festivities.

Oh, and my birthday, too.

(smile!)

So, who all was in attendance at 1730 for this momentous progress?

For Post 36, there was Doug Andrews, Billy Cope, Michael T. Powers, and me.

For Post 500, there was Eddie Patterson, John Parker, and Brenda Pough.

Plus, we had Mike Kozik and Kat Hancock, ready to get this party started.

By the time those two departed at 1911, we had a rough draft of the contract, with them understanding and agreeing to paying a set monthly rental fee for the space and equipment in return for receiving 2/3 of the net profit for sales of food and beverages.

As Doug has said repeatedly, we are not in this to make money; we are here to provide a service to our military and veteran family.

Hooray for him!

Hooray, also, for Eddie and John spurring Post 500 members to supply circular tables ($173 each) and packs of chairs ($169/pack) for any functions to be held here.

Hooray, also, for Brenda for printing out sample lease agreements for any groups who are interested in renting our space for their functions. 

Hooray, also, for Mike fetching Post 36's stored items (six 6' tables, six bar stools, the Budweiser sign, and  'Iron Mike', and others) from Post 135 and bringing them here to Two First Posts at long last, with Michael T agreeing to be here for that long-awaited delivery.

Hooray for Doug for setting up a google group for Two First Posts.

Hooray for Eddie for making out the list of items to be accomplished to make this place ready (pouring the concrete pad outside the kitchen door; reversing the front doors and adding panic bars to comply with fire code; obtaining a lockable liquor storage cabinet).

Hooray for John and Doug for donating funds ($500 each) to be dedicated to stocking the bathrooms (wall mirrors at sinks, toilet paper holders, tissue holders, trash cans, hand soap, paper towel dispensers). 

And, last, but certainly not least, hooray for Billy for taking on the task of wiring the internet, security, and the entertainment systems, with him coordinating with Joe Cetti for the seven televisions to be purchased, the mounting hardware for six of those and A/V cart for the other (designated for training purposes).

Whew.

No one directly took on the elephant in the room, about the enormous debt (more than $800,000 already spent on the purchase and remodel of this building) taken on by one man: Doug Andrews.

We all need to work together to help this dream become reality for him.

He said we'll open on May 25 of this year - we can make that happen!

 

My odometer reading as I pulled into my driveway bodes well for that.

Such a nice, round, even number for the mileage: 245300.

Yes, I am glad to have been at that American Legion meeting tonight.

Most definitely right place, right time. 

(smile!)