Veterans and patrons walking through the doors of VFW Post 10211 in Key Largo can expect a reinvigorated look and a family-friendly atmosphere.
With help from the community and the hard work put forth by several, there’s new, fresh feel for the post that once fell into decline before closing its doors. Jason Kendall, retired Marine major, and fellow veterans took ownership. From there, cleanup and renovation commenced.
On Saturday, the community came together for a grand opening of the post and Arthur’s Island Restaurant at The Post. Kendall said the post wouldn’t be what it is today without the community’s support and the work by volunteers.
“They were the driving force in helping me get this thing done.” Kendall said. “We finally got done what we wanted to get done here for the veterans in Key Largo. We have a decent establishment for the community to enjoy.”
Dennis Ward, post commander and state attorney, said Kendall and his work party did an excellent job in recreating the VFW Post in Key Largo. Now, he said there’s a decent establishment for the community to enjoy.
“We’re bringing it into the 21st century and we’ve come a long way,” Ward said. “We have a great chef who serves very good Caribbean style food.”
Denis Nerney, VFW district 5 officer from Homestead, said he was asked to come down and check out the post. He said there’s now a better establishment for veterans to bring their families.
“These VFW clubs through time have been doing OK, but basically we’re all getting older,” Nerney said. “There’s a young veteran out there who probably doesn’t smoke, but not only that, who wants a better place for his family to come.”
John Donnelly, trustee at the post, said he couldn’t be more pleased with what’s happened. He said it’s coming out of the dark ages to the 21st century.
“It’s an excellent combination and coordination of so many generous people,” he said. There were volunteers and businesses and those who gave money. It was really a group effort. Without people in community who stood up, we wouldn’t have succeeded.”
Upper Keys VFW Post 10211 and Arthur’s Island Restaurant at the Post are located at 102255 Overseas Highway. For more information, visit Upper Keys VFW Post 10211 & Auxiliary’s Facebook page.
