WATSONVILLE—Veterans of Foreign Wars Freedom Post 1716, which was facing closure this month after the organization could not elect leadership, was given a last-minute reprieve Wednesday at a make-or-break meeting.
The VFW, which was launched in 1929 to serve the local population of World War I veterans, was seeing flagging membership and low attendance due to fears over Covid-19.
Just eight of 116 members showed up to a meeting in July and, unable to appoint a commander and other leaders as is required by national VFW rules, the facility was facing permanent closure.
That would have been bad news for many local veterans, who depend on the post to meet others who share their unique life experiences.
“I feel pretty darn good,” said former post commander David Ambriz. “I put so much time and effort into this post that I really wanted to see it succeed.”
Ambriz said the post’s new leadership has a lot of work ahead of them, as the building has been closed since February 2020.
