American Legion Post 66 in Connecticut receives grant through federal appropriation facilitated by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
In 2022, American Legion Post 66 in Clinton, Ct., received a $458,000 state grant to make much-needed renovations on its 96-year-old post building. But after two years of figuring out how to make the best use of the money, something became very clear: It wasn’t going to be enough to replace or repair everything the building needed.
But thanks to some persistence on the part of the post, more money has now come in, with the help of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
In early April – and with American Legion National Commander Dan K. Wiley on hand during his official department visit – Blumenthal visited Post 66 with the news its membership was receiving a $1 million federal appropriation secured through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.
“It’s an elating feeling,” Post 66 Commander Bob Washington said of being able to improve the facility. “When the post was built it was the place to go for everybody. And what we have to offer now is a whole lot different than what we did have. It was a long time coming.”
The post was built in 1930. In the early 1970s an addition was made to the building that now houses an early learning center and daycare program. “That was the last time we saw any sort of a facelift,” Washington said. “Most of the work (on the building) throughout the years has been done by members. It was doing whatever had to be done in the least-expensive way.”
After getting the state grant, members of Post 66 realized the state of the building was much worse than anticipated. “The deep condition of the building was a lot worse than we thought,” Washington said. “So the cost of repairing was a lot more than we thought.”
Later on, Washington said that Post 66 Finance Officer David Burns learned that federal money might be available and applied for it through Blumenthal’s office. And even though the grant money was made unavailable for two years, Burns continued to apply for it.
“The persistence of my finance officer was phenomenal,” Washington said. “He kept after them and kept after them. Other people dropped out of the running. And when the money (became available again), we were at the top of the list.”
The recent and future renovations include replacing rotting floors in the bathrooms, asbestos removal and making the bathrooms handicapped-accessible. Improvements also have been made to the rental hall, which combines with fundraising and donations to provide Post 66 with its only revenue.
“The biggest thing is going online and finding where the money is and having someone willing to and knowing how to apply for it,” Washington said. “And then you’ve got to be specific about how you’re going to spend the money. Research has to be done in order to put a reasonable number on the paperwork requesting the money. And that’s what we did.”
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