Tehachapi News

Tehachapi VFW post needs treasurer to stay open

The California VFW commander has suspended operations of the local post for 90 days because it has no financial officer.

In military terms, the post lacks a quartermaster. A quartermaster is accountable for all the post money and keeps the financial records.

“We’ll be running until Wednesday,” said Robert Hoffman, commander of Tehachapi VFW Mountain Post 5948. “They’ll probably shut it down.”

He said the VFW’s accounts would be frozen and the state VFW organization would take over the post.

He said the post has handed over all of its records.

But, he said, “If we get a quartermaster, it will end right there.”

Hoffman said the post is solvent and may be able to secure a reprieve.

If not, he said, the post could face bankruptcy.

Hoffman was served notice by means of a letter handed to him Saturday at a district meeting in Rosamond.

The Tehachapi post has been placed under a three-person trusteeship under the leadership of Mike Murphy of Post 4084 in Ridgecrest.

“Yes, the post could be shut down,” Murphy told the Tehachapi News Monday afternoon. “This is VFW business. There are problems that have been developing in the Tehachapi post. We are in the process of remedying the situation.”

Murphy said, “I can’t answer why Tehachapi is having so much trouble finding a quartermaster.”

The position receives no pay and, Hoffman said, involves “a lot of work,” including managing the canteen.

Murphy said that the VFW is a private organization and referred media inquiries to the state Adjutant/Quartermaster for information. The Adjutant/Quartermaster James Rowoldt was not immediately available for comment.

“We aren’t trying to hide anything. It’s like a crisis in your family. I don’t believe it is any different,” Murphy said.

The Tehachapi post has about 200 active members, Hoffman said. The post has a popular bar open only to members and those signed in by members. The hall, at 221 W. Tehachapi Blvd., is rented out for community events and weddings. The structure is owned by a private trust and the Union Pacific Railroad owns the land.

The Tehachapi post pays $2,650 a month rent.

To become a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Hoffman said, a former military person must have been awarded a combat medal from a foreign war.

Posted online Feb. 9, 2009