Time passed, the 70s and 80s flew by, and the post continued to grow. We were running out of space, both in the building and parking areas. The post had no place to expand.
In the mid 90s we started looking at other property in the area. Bob Hammeral, Art Bernal, Bud Hansing and Paul Roemer spent many Saturday mornings looking at property. We eventually found the property where we are now located and after many negotiating sessions with the owner, the banks, contractors, and numerous post meetings we agreed to buy the property.
Months later, plans were drawn up for the new building with the expert help of Paul Roemer and Roger Barnard. We agreed on a workable plan.
After eventually settling on the type of building we wanted, and selecting a reputable contractor, construction began in ernest. Our target date for the completion of the building was the end of 1999. We wanted to be in the new building for the new millennium.
We faced many problems but were able to move in on December 30, 1999. You never saw so much activity as there was on that afternoon. People were loading trucks at the old post and unloading at the new post. The fire inspector was still trying to decide if all the alarms worked, there were people on ladders installing ceiling tiles. It was mass confusion but the job got done. Bob Hammeral was on the phone with the liquor control to make sure our license transfer was complete and finally at about 5:00 in the afternoon we were up and running.
The fun didn’t stop at that point. We still had to move the airplane we had on load from the USAF. Pinal County wanted us to get a permit, as did Maricopa County, the city of Mesa, and the city of Apache Junction. We were scratching our heads wondering what we were going to do. We had a dedicated member, Mark Souther, who owned a number of large trucks so we went to the Apache City Council and enlisted their help. We moved the aircraft in the middle of the night with no permits. The job was completed and we celebrated.
There have been many many dedicated, hardworking Legion members, Sons members, Auxiliary members, and Riders who have made this post successful from it"s time of inception up through and including today. We thank every one of them. It took each and every one to put this post where it is today. The largest post in the state of Arizona.
