With a renewed focus on community, officials with the local Army Navy and Air Force Veterans’ Club are looking to build their numbers, grow the quantity of social opportunities available and help those in need.
The club, which has been around locally since the 1960s and nationally since 1840, is in the midst of a membership push as it works to increase its offerings to the community – be that in the form of camaraderie, friendly competition or hosting events.
“It’s meant so much to us and we would like to see other people get as much enjoyment out of it as we have,” said longtime member Trish Lowry, noting she was at the Gordon Street club most nights during her younger years. “This was our whole social life ... Our children all … knew each other and still do.”
For decades, the club has been home to a variety of activities, from casual conversations around the bar and being a meeting place of local sports teams, to holding community dances and annual Remembrance Day activities.
Though membership used to be limited to men who served in the military, those requirements are long gone and everyone is welcome to join, though membership isn’t required to participate in much of the club’s fun.
“There's lots, but there's still room,” said club president Mike Sabourin, noting there are things happening at the club most days of the week. “We’re open to suggestions.”
In addition to a weekly club darts league and a monthly diner, ANAF 344, as it’s officially known, hosts monthly euchre tournaments, an annual golf tournament and opens its doors during major sporting events such as the Superbowl and World Cup for fans to watch together.
The club hall – located inside a designated heritage building, constructed in 1845 – is also rented out to local organizations looking for space to hold events. It includes a kitchen.
It used to be that the club took up all three floors of the building, but the second and third levels were converted into apartments during the 1970s. ANAF now calls the ground level home.
Nationally, there are about 27,000 ANAF members in 74 organizations, including Guelph’s.
Last year, the local group included 98 members, which is roughly double what it was when the club formed and about one-third of its peak in the ‘70s.
“We’re starving for more members … younger members,” said Sabourin, who feels a lot of people in the growing community aren’t aware of the club and its offerings.
Part of the issue, he believes, is the club’s Gordon Street front entrance is only open during warmer months, with access limited to a rear door during the winter, so many people pass right by.
The club is similarly impacted by limited available parking in the immediate area.
Whether it’s this year or next, Sabourin hopes to see the club return to hosting an annual Christmas event where gifts are provided to children who might otherwise go without or receive few presents.
For more information about Army Navy and Air Force Veterans’ Club 344, check out its website here.
