The Anchor Point VFW reopened its doors on Saturday after completing renovations inside.
The Virl “Pa” Haga VFW Post 10221 now boasts a new bar and an expanded canteen area designed to be more user friendly and serve more community members. Updates also include a new ATM and, soon, new pool tables, according to post commander Charles “Chuck” Collins.
Collins described the canteen before the remodel as “outdated.” The previous bar was built in the 1980s, and the space was inefficiently set up for serving the community in the way the VFW wanted to, he said.
The VFW had closed the canteen and set up a temporary bar in order to continue serving the community when construction began on April 10. They held a soft opening on May 1 as a trial run for the updated space, with a grand reopening celebration set for Saturday, May 6.
“I want to thank the community for their support, and the volunteers that helped us (with the renovation),” Collins said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”
Canteen manager Heidi Adams is very happy with the renovation results.
“Before, when we would have an event, it would take 20 steps to do something, but now we’re doing it in three,” she told Homer News in an April 28 interview. “We’re far more efficient, more up to date.”
Used as a community hub, the VFW hosts a large number of events open to the public throughout the year, including weekly dart tournaments and pool tournaments, Monday taco nights and Friday burger nights, and more. Local organizations also partner with the VFW to host annual events, including the Anchor Point Snow Rondi or King Salmon Calcutta and Tournament.
“We’re hosting more people,” Adams said. “We want to invite the community in, we want the community to know they’re welcome to come here.”
Saturday’s celebration, which was open to the public, included housemade fish and chips, live music, door prize giveaways, and a silent dessert auction. The VFW also hosted the award announcements for the Anchor Point King Salmon Tournament the same night.
For more information on upcoming events, visit facebook.com/vfwpost10221/.
