The massive stone building situated on Greenwood’s east side stands as a monument to local veterans.
Inside the new home of Greenwood VFW Post 5864 is a revamped lounge, bar and dining area, where members of the VFW can come to relax and enjoy camaraderie with each other.
A row of offices will allow officials to meet with veterans in need of help and services. Much of the new building is occupied with a spacious banquet room available for the community to rent for wedding receptions, class reunions and other events.
The new space offers a wide variety of opportunities for the VFW and other veterans organizations affiliated with it. Officials hope that it helps create a new image for the group as well.
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“(When) most people thinking about veterans, they always think about going into a smoke-filled room, telling war stories,” said Steve Milbourn, commander of Post 5864. “Well, we forgot all of our stories because we’re too old. That’s not what this place is about.”
The members of Post 5864 will move into its new home in mid-January. They are transitioning from the home the organization had grown out of over the past 35 years into a modern structure better suited to serve area veterans and support the organization’s needs.
“This will attract many more veterans. They can start fresh, as we’re doing here,” Milbourn said.
Plans for the new headquarters started percolating years ago, and the VFW membership voted to move forward with the project in February 2018.
Construction on the project started in early August at the site on Greenwood’s east side. The new facility is just off Main Street, east of Interstate 65, on the newly named Veterans Way.
The project has been overseen by the Garrett Company, a local developer that offered its construction management services free of charge to the VFW. Though the VFW is still paying the various contractors and other workers who put the building together, Garrett’s gesture saved the organization $100,000 or more in costs, Milbourn said.
The total cost of the work has come in at about $1.5 million.
Simply put, the building gives the VFW more space, Milbourn said. The new space offers 11,800 square feet to operate, as opposed to the 6,000 square feet at its current headquarters in downtown Greenwood.
“We were in that building for 35 years. We have some problems with the electrical, we’ve had some sewer issues, a few other things. It was time,” Milbourn said.
In designing the building, an emphasis was put on inviting the community in for events, which is why half of the new facility is dedicated to banquet space for special events.
The banquet room seats up to 300 people, with tables and chairs to accommodate all guests. The space can be opened up to span the entire width of the building, or a partition can be stretched across the center to create two smaller rooms.
“The bottom line is we make more money renting that banquet room than we do anything else,” Milbourn said.
Back in the area designated for VFW members, a day room features dart boards, a pool table, exercise equipment and flat-screen televisions. The idea is to have a place for veterans to relax and unwind.
The barroom will feature a horseshoe-shaped bar with televisions, beer on tap and connection to a full kitchen.
The new facility will be non-smoking, though a designated area with a tent will be set up outside for those who wish to smoke, Milbourn said.
One of the post’s enduring traditions has been its horseshoe league, held weekly throughout the warmer months. A horseshoe pit and shelter house will be installed at the new facility, ensuring that legacy carries on.
In four offices along one side of the building, officials from the VFW and other organizations will be able to conduct business and meet with veterans in private.
In addition to VFW Post 5864 and its auxiliaries, an office will be designated for the newly formed American Legion Centennial Post 1919. Milbourn and another local veteran, Mike Delaney, founded the post earlier this year.
The fourth office will be used by the Forty and Eight, a veterans’ organization founded after World War I and rooted in child welfare, volunteer efforts and Americanism.
“We have multiple groups that meet regularly with us, so this just carries that on,” Milbourn said.
Completion of the project is expected in the coming weeks, Milbourn said.
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Greenwood VFW Post 5864
New building
What: A new headquarters for the Greenwood VFW, which is moving into the space from its existing home at 333 S. Washington St.
Where: 1842 Veterans Way, Greenwood
Size: 11,800 square feet
Cost: $1.5 million
Information: greenwoodvfw.com
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New Year’s Eve party
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday to 12:30 a.m. Wednesday
Where: Greenwood VFW Post 5864 existing building, 333 S. Washington St.
What’s included: Appetizers, desserts, champagne toast and biscuits and gravy at midnight; music by Two for the Show, which starts at 8:30 p.m.
Cost: $10
Information: facebook.com/greenwoodvfw
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