The Cerro VFW has reached a momentous milestone, completing the renovation begun over a year ago. On Saturday, July 13, the community gathered at the Cerro VFW to celebrate the success of the new and improved building. Marty Martinez and his band performed for the crowd.
We spoke with Adelita “Dee Dee” Mead, the Cerro VFW Quartermaster/Adjutant who worked on project management with her husband, Cerro VFW Commander Korey Mead. Together, the pair coordinated volunteers to assist with repairs.
In an opening day speech from Commander Korey Mead, he gave thanks to the community for their tremendous support, saying “Several large donations came from the LOR Foundation, Taos Community Foundation and Kit Carson, and those were instrumental in bringing our VFW back to life. We went through the entire process of re-establishing our non-profit in accordance with the State, and now we’re fully insured and ready for events. I want to especially thank Mr. David Cisneros, Past Post Commander, for his unwavering dedication to get this building repaired, always in remembrance and honor of his cousin, our Post’s namesake, PFC Charles Castulo Cisneros. Muchas gracias to Mr. and Mrs. Demecio Duran, for helping with literally everything from painting, to donating a cow elk hunt for our on-going raffle and much more, and all our active Post members and VFW Comrades from Las Vegas, NM VFW Post 1571. We had the help of some amazing people, Navy Seabees, Army Combat Engineers, Air Force Load Masters, talented electricians, carpenters, and contractors come in and help us out. Lastly, and very importantly, my mother-in-law, Ms. Charlene Chavarria for all she has done; she’s a constant amazing supporter and proud VFW Auxiliary Lifetime Member, and all the VFW Auxiliary members in our community. We are currently seeking 15 new members to renew the Cerro Charter, if anyone is interested in joining either the Auxiliary or our Post, please let us know.”
Dee Dee says that although they received grants, they were not able to afford contractors and materials therefore the work was largely done by the skills and abilities of the members. “We have veterans who were in the Navy, Army logisticians, combat engineers, Air Force Supply and mechanical engineers, many of whom came out and did their part,” she says.
When discussing how this project was achieved, she says she and her husband put a lot of work into its success. “Korey and I were usually there most days. People would stop by as they had time. We also raised some generous donations through our GoFundMe,” she says. “We couldn’t have achieved this success without the support of the community. People donated materials, skills, and money, which helped us substantially. Even when people would simply share our GoFundMe, it helped immensely.”
When asked why this project was so important to Dee Dee, she was quick to point to the building as a cornerstone for the Cerro community. “This building is where our community comes together to celebrate, to mourn, to find one another in life-changing times and lean on one another. We needed to get it up and running to continue to serve its role in our community.”
Having served in the military herself, Dee Dee wants to ensure current members can honor the sacrifice of our veterans, both living and deceased, through their work. “Through the renovation, we found so many things from the past, like documents with writing on them from the 70s. Seeing these pieces of our history gave us so much motivation to keep going, because we did this to honor them,” she says. “We have a display of military items and memorabilia of notable veterans at the VFW from our own communities. This is a way we’re going to honor our veterans every single day.”
