Vandergrift VFW suspended amid financial woes; post's new leader hopes to form auxiliary

The Vandergrift Veterans of Foreign Wars is in trouble and looking for a solution.

In December, the post on Sumner Avenue was placed on suspension and ordered to elect new officers after two special meetings with state and district VFW representatives aimed at solving their problems.

Those problems are many, but finances are chief among them.

“The club started to fall into financial problems,” newly elected post Commander Carl Trusiak said.

He said necessary paperwork hadn't been filed and many of the post's debts were not properly handled.

“We're moving through it slowly.”

Membership expansion

In an attempt to rectify the financial woes, the club wants to expand its membership by adding an auxiliary post.

“I hope to put an auxiliary into place to get more young individuals in here,” said Trusiak, a Bell Township resident. “We also definitely want to see more of the Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.”

There are more than 4,000 VFW auxiliary posts across the country with more than 450,000 members.

The regular VFW organization that once had 2.1 million members now counts fewer than 1.3 million. For many VFW posts, the auxiliary organization, which used to be referred to as the “Ladies” auxiliary, represents the bulk of active members.

For those military veterans who did not serve in combat and their family members, the auxiliary offers an avenue to join the organization. Membership in the auxiliary also is open to the relatives of combat veterans.

VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell, for example, relies on nonveteran memberships like the auxiliary to stay open, according to longtime post employee Alice Treser of Lower Burrell.

Trusiak said large donations for the Vandergrift VFW already have come in from American Legion Post 114 in Vandergrift and the Slovak Club in East Vandergrift.

“We're starting a membership campaign, and we're looking for donations from any source,” Trusiak said.

Where did the money go?

Exactly how the post came to be in such dire financial straits is hard to nail down, according to Trusiak.

“That's a matter of speculation and you will hear all kind of rumors around here. There are a lot of accusations about what was going on with the money,” Trusiak said. “I have no proof of anything. The one thing I can do is move forward.”

Trusiak, a computer programmer by day, said one thing is certain: keeping the post running is costly.

He said keeping the lights on, the cable bill paid and the bar stocked costs the post around $15,000 per month.

Trusiak said the money problem is so bad that the post doesn't have a relief fund. VFW posts use their relief funds to support veterans in need. Post 566 can't manage that right now, but Trusiak said he won't let that stand.

“We'll get back to being a functioning club,” he said. “We'll support the veterans the way we should.”

Patronage at the post's canteen reduces the cost somewhat, but Trusiak said the real problem is falling membership numbers and the loss of gaming machines.

Membership is down to under 190 paid veterans, less than half of historic numbers.

Trusiak said the gaming machines used to bring in thousands of dollars per week. The post no longer has working machines available.

The finances are so bad that the bartenders are working for free, as are all of the other post employees.

“We do not have a single paid individual,” Trusiak said. “There is no belt to tighten; we're working from the ground up.”

Thomas Brown, state VFW commander, did not return a request for information on why the post was under suspension or how deep the financial troubles went.

During a telephone interview with the Tribune-Review on Jan. 20, Brown said: “There is more to it than that and I'll have to get back to you,” when asked about the post's financial problems and suspension.

Matthew Medsger is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4675 or mmedsger@tribweb.com.