Richfield AMVETS commander determined to grow Post 176 membership

by Sheldon Ocker

A year ago, members of Richfield AMVETS Post 176 were troubled about dwindling participation and apathy among the membership.

That concern was shared by former Air Force master sergeant Dave Mruk, but as the post’s new commander, he is in a position to institute positive changes. Mruk, who spent 26 years in the Air Force reserves after nine years of active duty, is a longtime AMVETS member who has seen Post 176 struggle, much like other fraternal organizations.

“Without getting negative, we have to reach out and try to get younger people involved,’’ Mruk said. “It’s always tough when you have the old guard there. Nothing against them, but they just weren’t open to new ideas, to changing things.’’

It used to be called the generation gap. Marked cultural differences between generations is nothing new.  Parents who grew up adoring Frank Sinatra watched in horror as their children emulated Elvis Presley. The generation that grew up listening to network radio was certain that kids who couldn’t pull themselves away from the 19-inch TV screen would end up as vegetables.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       So that is the kind of thing Mruk is up against, but he said he is making progress in modernizing some of the post’s activities and practices. Case in point, bringing in readers to enable the post to take credit cards in the canteen (bar room).

“They were OK, a little slow to get on board,’’ Mruk said of the older members. “It’s kind of a prove-me-wrong thing. But when things work in our favor – like it did with credit cards – it’s ‘Oh yeah, that was a pretty good idea.’ But it was a hard thing to push. People just didn’t want to do that.’’

One phrase makes Mruk’s hair stand up.

“I heard a lot of, ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it,’ ‘’ he said. “I hate that answer. I try to work around that without hurting anyone’s feelings. We love the older guys. We really appreciate what they’ve done for the post. At the same time, it’s OK to change, to think outside the box.’’

According to Mruk, Post 176 has 462 members among three classifications: regular AMVETS, the AMVETS Women’s Auxiliary and the Sons of AMVETS. But when it comes to the operation of the post, few members are interested enough to take part.

“We have around 10 that come to meetings,’’ said Mruk. “I know that’s not a very good turnout. One of my goals is to increase participation.’’

He said 10 new vets have joined in the past few months.

The post attracts a respectable number of members and nonmembers for its usual activities: the turkey shoot competition, Texas hold ‘em tournaments that were suspended from February 2020 until October 2021 because of COVID, bowling leagues in the canteen in the fall and spring and the weekly fish fry.

“We’re talking about having more things on Friday night, perhaps bands playing in the parking lot a few times a year,’’ Mruk said. “We changed our menu on Friday nights. We’re trying to have a weekly special geared toward – we get about 12 seniors from the Richfield Senior Center – because a lot of them might not be able to get out that much.’’

Mruk discovered that a modest tactic can produce significant results. When Mruk tried to increase rental dates for the post’s 3,500-foot social hall, he went to Brian and Karen Becker, AMVETS members.

“Becker Signs made a small sign for us to put out on Wheatley Road to advertise the hall,’’ Mruk said. “That little sign has really done well. The hall was rented every weekend in December, last weekend and this weekend [Jan. 15-16].’’

Mruk obtained a Sunday liquor license and opened the canteen for Cleveland Browns games, attracting 20-25 fans.

“That’s pretty good for us,’’ he said. “Of course, you always want more.’’

Editor’s note: As the Richfield Times goes to press, the death of Joe Scolaro was reported. Scolaro lead the AMVETS as the commander for many years.

In addition, Richfield Village Councilperson Sue Ann Philippbar reported at a meeting that the AMVETS gave their annual donation of $5,000 to the Richfield SeniorCenter in December. They are required to donate a portion of their gaming sales each year to a non profit.

The new AMVETS sign has created an interest in renting the post to non-members. Photo by S. Serdinak.