It’s a responsibility.
It follows you home. It rings your phone. It fills your evenings. And more weekends than I can count, it means being at the Post when there are plenty of other places I could be.
The new deck is a perfect example.
Two words — “build a deck” — sound pretty simple.
They weren’t.
It took months of planning, meetings, phone calls, drawings, revisions, permits, city requirements, contractors, measurements, materials, questions, setbacks and follow-ups.
There were discussions about closing the Washington Street entrance, working through the Board of Works, dealing with the curb, extending the deck the full length of the building, designing the ramp and stairs, figuring out railings, adding the shed, working around the alley and making sure everything was done the right way.
Every time it looked like we were at the finish line, there was another phone call.
Another email.
Another question.
Another piece of paperwork.
Another trip downtown.
But we kept pushing.
And finally, the fees were paid and the permit was approved.
That was a good day.
But here’s the thing:
The deck is only one project.
While all of that was happening, Post 451 still had to operate.
Coolers had to be replaced. We needed a new keg cooler, beer cooler and commercial freezer. There was a new back door, flooring, painting, new bar chairs, repairs and maintenance.
There are licenses, inspections and compliance requirements.
Finances and fundraising.
Membership drives.
Officer meetings.
Veterans programs.
Community events.
Friday dinners.
Cedar Subs specials.
Musicians and entertainment.
Auxiliary, Sons of The American Legion and Riders programs.
Grants.
Bills.
Receipts.
Contractors.
Vendors.
City officials.
The National Commander dinner.
Wreaths Across America.
Memorial Day.
Veterans Day.
And now we’re building something else from the ground up:
⚾ POST 451 JUNIOR AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL.
The Post 451 White Caps are being built for the 2027 season.
That doesn’t happen by putting a name on a jersey.
It means finding funding, working with grants, buying equipment, finding coaches, developing a team identity, working on uniforms, recruiting young players, getting information to families and putting together a program that can represent Post 451 and Michigan City the right way.
We didn’t get to play a game this year.
But we learned.
We got equipment.
We laid the groundwork.
And now we’re getting ready to recruit.
Because supporting veterans is at the heart of the American Legion — but part of protecting the Legion’s future is also reaching the next generation.
I want some kid to put on a Post 451 White Caps uniform, take that field and understand that the name on his chest represents something bigger than baseball.
Then there are Saturday nights.
At least 48 Saturdays a year, I’m behind the bar for roughly seven hours.
Do the math.
That’s about 336 hours a year.
More than eight full 40-hour workweeks just standing behind the bar on Saturday nights.
And when the bar closes, being Commander doesn’t close with it.
Someone has a question.
Something breaks.
A delivery doesn’t show up.
A member needs something.
An event needs promoted.
A contractor needs an answer.
The city needs another document.
A decision has to be made.
The phone rings.
And I answer it.
Because when you care about an organization like Post 451, you don’t look at the clock and say:
“My hours are over.”
You handle it.
That’s the part people don’t always see.
They see the new floor.
They see the new chairs.
They see the coolers working.
They see the Friday dinners.
They see the entertainment.
Soon they’ll see the new deck.
And hopefully next season, they’ll see young men wearing Post 451 White Caps across their uniforms and representing this Post on a baseball field.
But they don’t see the hundreds upon hundreds of hours behind those things.
They don’t see the phone calls from the truck.
The paperwork sitting on the kitchen table.
The meetings.
The conversations with contractors.
The trips downtown.
The late-night messages.
The Saturday nights behind the bar.
Or the constant thought running through your head:
What’s next? What still needs to be done?
And none of this is being done for a paycheck.
It’s being done because generations of veterans built places like Post 451.
They served.
They sacrificed.
They came home and built something that mattered.
And now it’s our responsibility to make sure places like this are still standing, still serving veterans, still serving our community and still giving the next generation something worth being part of.
There is a big difference between holding an office and taking responsibility.
Holding an office means having a title.
Taking responsibility means knowing that sooner or later somebody is going to ask:
“Who’s going to take care of it?”
And more often than not, my answer has been:
“I will.”
That’s what it takes.
Not one meeting.
Not one project.
Not one Saturday night.
It’s hundreds of decisions.
Thousands of conversations.
Countless hours.
And the willingness to keep showing up.
Someday soon, that deck will be finished.
People will sit outside, have a drink, share a meal, laugh with friends and enjoy something that wasn’t there before.
And hopefully, not long after that, we’ll hear the crack of a bat and see the Post 451 White Caps take the field.
Most people will never know everything it took to make any of it happen.
And you know what?
That’s okay.
Because I never did any of this so people could see me doing the work.
I did it because the work needed to be done.
🇺🇸 For Post 451. For our veterans. For our community. And for the generations coming behind us.