MISSION STATEMENT

VFW Ole Beck Post 209 serves Veterans, their families, and the youth of Missoula through advocacy, connection, and care, honoring service by building a stronger, healthier community for those who served and those who follow.

THE VISION

While ensuring the protection of our core programs, like our Honor Guard and Charitable Contributions Committee, Post 209 has taken the most significant step in its 105-year history, electing to surrender our liquor and gaming license and convert from a traditional VFW bar and gaming operation into a Veteran Gym and Resource Center. It is a shift from a place Veterans visit to a place Veterans build their lives around. Fitness, resilience, purpose, family, and each other, all under one roof, open to every Veteran.

THE GRANT

The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded Post 209 the full requested amount of $688,608 through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) to launch the VFW Healthy Veteran Initiative. This award funds dedicated full-time staff and expanded programming in Veteran wellness, peer support, benefits navigation, and suicide prevention outreach, turning our vision into a fully staffed reality.

THE TIMELINE

Post 209’s leadership began exploring a buy-sell opportunity earlier this year and has since entered into contract for 1521 Cooper Street, the former Zoo BJJ Gym and Dance Studio. Closing is set for the end of the year, marking the next step in our transformation into a Veteran Gym and Resource Center.

Our current building is for sale, and on October 6th members walked the new space firsthand at a Members Open House at 1521 Cooper Street. The membership will gather for a special vote on October 14th to decide the sale of our current building, the purchase of 1521 Cooper Street, and formal acceptance of the SSG Fox SPGP award, a vote that will shape Post 209 for the next century.