American Legion Post 47 in Fort Wayne closes

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - American Legion Post 47 in Fort Wayne closed the doors to its building on St. Joe Road for the last time.

It was a packed house Saturday evening, but Post Commander Bob Marshall said that's not normal.

"It's not like this every day. People came because today is the last day. It's more of a farewell party," he said.

Marshall said there were several factors that ultimately led the board to vote to close the post. Marshall said law changes banning cherry masters and smoking hurt cash flow and attendance. Then the economic downturn made things worse.

"Our business hasn't been what it used to be. People don't have the money to come out like they used to. They don't have the extra money to spend on a club," Marshall said.

Marshall became commander last June, but said the money problems started long before he took charge. But, as the Legion post leader, he wishes it didn't come to closing. 

"I feel very bad. It's been a bad year. It's like a car that's broken, but I'm still the driver," he said.

But, some members think closing the post could have been prevented.

"The thing that hurts the most is they didn't make any changes in the last five months and that's why we are where we are today," Cathy Sizemore, an officer with the American Legion Auxiliary , said.

Sizemore said the Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion (SAL) , which are a separate organizations from the American Legion, gave the post $7,000 to help pay the bills in August 2011. They wanted Legion leadership to make changes in how the post was run, like changing the hours and allowing some employees who volunteered to work for free to do so.

"The board was not ready to make the changes need to make it a go," Ron Bookmiller, the SAL commander, said. "Traditionally, American Legions aren't run like a business, but in this day and age, it needs to be run like a business."

Marshall said the post was already running as thin as it could.

"We talked about volunteer bartenders. We already had cut down to the bone as much as we could. We've had people working for nothing. Eventually that runs out," he said.

Marshall added part of the problems making ends meet was the big building the post was in. It's 16,000 square feet and he said $1,500 electric bills weren't uncommon.

"You can't pay bills with money that's not there," Marshall said.

Post member Roger Duffey questioned if the money was really there or not.

"I've been to the meetings and listened to the account of the funds and it doesn't add up. The money should be there to keep the post viable," Duffey said. "I don't feel comfortable that the funds were used properly and there's a cover-up. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize to the folks, but I think something's wrong and I think the prosecuting attorney's office should be digging into this."

Duffey, who's been active with the Legion since he was a child, added an audit was requested and never granted.

Sizemore said she doesn't think there's any cover-up going on, but she's devastated something wasn't done to try to save the post.

"It's tearing my heart out. It's killing me to see this post shut down. It's been too cold to change the sign out front and now the next sign is going to be 'We're closed,'" she said.

Duffey said SAL, the Auxiliary and the Post Legion Riders offered to help the post pay its bills again, but the offers were denied.

"We need more than they could give us to stay open," Marshall said. "It wasn't going to cure the problem. We might have been open a few more months, but it's like a big, gaping wound and just sticking a band-aid on it."

While the post's building is now closed, Marshall said that's not the end of the post. He said it's keeping its charter and he'll still hold meetings with other leadership and anyone who wants to come.

"Post 47 is the oldest in the district, the oldest in Fort Wayne and the largest in Fort Wayne," he said. "We aren't going away. All this is is a bump in the road. As I told the membership, the post was not the building, it's the people. As long as we've got people, we're going on."

The big building is now up for sale. Marshall said they'll use the money from it to buy a smaller place.

"We'll relocate and downsize to a building we can more afford," he said.