“It was kind of a month-to-month basis on whether we’d be able to pay our bills or not [a year ago]. We didn’t default on any bills; we never completely depleted our funds because ... the community really stepped up and helped out,” Biehl said. “That’s one of the things we can’t express enough is our gratitude to the Tomball-Magnolia community for stepping up and helping out with keeping us afloat.”
From helping to build an outdoor stage to using the VFW’s hall to train service dogs, community partners have come alongside the VFW to bring exposure and new members as well as financial contributions, Biehl said.
New community partners
In the last 12-24 months, the Tomball post has begun working more closely with organizations such as the School of Rock, a music school primarily for youth; Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association; VETMotorsports, The Rescue for PTSD; Magnolia-based Texans United For Freedom; motorcycle group The American Legion Riders; and active military groups, Biehl said with many of the organizations using the Tomball post for events and meetings.
For example, The Rescue for PTSD meets twice monthly at the Tomball post. The organization pairs veterans with a psychiatric service dog for post-traumatic stress disorder, he said.
“Part of that training is training the veteran how to support that service dog and use that service dog as well, so all of that is done at no charge to the veteran,” Biehl said. “We’ve donated the use of our facility [to them].”
The VFW also began providing cigar and steak nights for veterans with local organization Combined Arms in May.
Post 2427 Commander Sean Ellis said the VFW has begun hosting gatherings for active military members, including swearing-in ceremonies, recruiting events and promotion ceremonies.
“We got reached out to by a lot of active military,” Ellis said. “A lot of them reached out to us simply to say, ‘We’re here to help.’ And one of the ways of helping is they want to come in, use our premises and make a donation for doing so, but it’s also just to get that exposure [to the VFW].”
The Dogtag Drummers, which holds drum circle sessions as a rhythmic therapy for PTSD, is led by a member of the Tomball post and was temporarily put on hold amid the pandemic. The organization now meets twice monthly.
“We are expanding the number of drums, and we’re going to be bringing that to the veterans hospital and other locations, so we’re going to have traveling drums,” Ellis said.
Looking ahead
With the VFW reopen for business, Biehl said the VFW has plans for greater community outreach, including a potential community garden and playground.
“The business is starting to pick up,” Biehl said.
Biehl said state-level VFW representatives have continued advocating for veterans service organizations classified as bars based on their alcohol sales to be exempt from emergency orders shuttering bars. Doing so would have allowed the VFW to continue operating throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our ask was to exempt veterans service organizations from those blanket orders on things,” Biehl said.
However, legislation that was filed requesting the change was not voted on before the end of the 86th legislative session, Biehl said.
However, should the VFW need to close its indoor venue in the future, the Tomball post now has an outdoor venue as well, Biehl said.
“The Gulf Coast Blues Association built an outdoor stage for us, so we can actually have outdoor events now,” he said.
Some officers of the Tomball post have also enrolled in Heroes to Hives, a program offered by Michigan State University to veterans that teaches beekeeping practices. Biehl said the Tomball post has two hives on site, and he has dreams of starting a community garden where veterans could work alongside youth to teach gardening and share stories.
In addition, the VFW continues work on its community memorial garden as a tribute to veterans.
“We’ve been in talks with Harris County about installing a playground over there [at the memorial garden]. One of the things that’s going to help us with attracting young veterans is make it more appealing to families,” Biehl said.
