Columbus American Legion Post faces difficulty reopening after charter suspension
An American Legion post that had its charter suspended last year has since had that suspension lifted, but still faces challenges after reopening.
American Legion Post 35, 3361 N. Lumpkin Road, had its charter suspended in September. The post commander, Damone Turner, told the Ledger-Enquirer he was locked inside the building after the Department of Georgia American Legion closed the building without warning.
“I was locked inside, so I didn’t know that the padlocks were on there until I tried to leave out the door,” Turner told the Ledger-Enquirer in September.
Turner said he got out of the building after the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office told the state legion officials to take the locks off the doors. Months later, Turner claims it’s unclear why the post faced discipline.
“They still haven’t told us why we were suspended,” Turner told the Ledger-Enquirer Thursday. “We will probably never exactly know the circumstances surrounding the suspension,” Turner said.
Jim Fultz, adjutant for the Department of Georgia American Legion, told the Ledger-Enquirer Post 35 was put on suspension for administrative violations, but declined to explain further.
The suspension was lifted in November, Turner said.
American Legion post says bills went unpaid
Turner said the post also faced difficulties reopening after regaining control of their building.
“They gave us back the building without taking care of it, which caused a lot of financial hardship with reopening the building because when we got it back, none of the bills were paid, so it was closed, we weren’t able to make money,” Turner said.
Turner alleges the Department of Georgia American Legion emptied the local post’s bank accounts, an amount of $1,700, and, “let the electricity, everything get cut off.”
Fultz told the Ledger-Enquirer the loss of money had nothing to do with the Department of Georgia American Legion.
“We didn’t take any money from them at all,” Fultz said.
Equipment in the building, including a walk-in refrigerator, began to malfunction when electricity was turned back on, according to Turner.
“When you have a building this size, ... there’s a lot of things that go wrong when it’s not being used,” Turner said.
Turner said turning the lights back on caused a big financial burden, because the post owed a big deposit for having the electricity disconnected.
It took the post “a good month” to reopen after getting the building back. Grass needed to be cut, the building needed to be cleaned, trash needed collected and utilities needed to be reconnected, according to Turner.
“It took a good month, especially when you’re starting at an account that says zero and in some instances, some of the accounts are at lower than zero,” Turner said. “And when you’re running a nonprofit, you know, it’s strictly for, you know, veteran services, getting money for it just doesn’t happen.”
Turner said a lot of the money to keep the building going comes out of personal pockets.
“We still want a place for our members and our veterans to be able to come and safely gather and also get help with their issues, such as their VA claims when they need,” Turner said.
Turner said Post 35 lost some members during the charter suspension, but he says he doesn’t blame those who left.
The post does have events planned, including line dancing on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays. The post also will have a Valentine’s Day date night, featuring a sip and paint, Turner said.
Turner said the post also has Western Night on Wednesdays, which started in early January.