From the outside, the building is not that impressive. To be honest, it’s not a palace on the inside, either. But to the members of American Legion Post 378 in Gulf Breeze, the blue wooden building on Highway 98 has been home for close to a decade.
“This is family here," said Melissa Barnes, the commander of Post 378. She moved to the area from Virginia a few years ago where she served in leadership positions with her local VFW.
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“We only have 200 plus members," said Barnes. “When we first walked through the door three years ago, I immediately knew that I wasn’t going to be able to just sit back in the lounge and enjoy myself and not watch some of the things that were already being done. (Things like) taking care of our community, taking care of our veterans’ programs, things like that. So, I wound up stepping up two years ago and became commander.”
As commander, Barnes is looking ahead to the future of the post. That includes finding a new, permanent place to call home. When the legion moved and began renting the current building in Gulf Breeze, they had always planned for this location to be a pit stop.
“This was not going to be a permanent thing and we knew that," said Barnes. “Unfortunately, or fortunately for the individual that owns (the property), he’s sitting on a wonderful spot to be able to make some money. And this is not a place for our organization to stay (because) the rent is going up, and we should be investing in our own building instead of basically paying for someone else’s mortgage.”
Finding that permanent place for the post to stay has been a challenge. First, there is the cost of real estate in Gulf Breeze, which has skyrocketed over the past three years. Then there is a rule in the Santa Rosa County land development code that statesa place that serves alcohol cannot be located within 2,500 feet of a school or church.
“Last year, we put in an offer on a specific piece of property in Gulf Breeze," said Barnes. “But due to the regulations, that (blocked) us from being able to buy that piece of property, even though we were only about 20 feet in distance from that 2,500 feet. So we lost out on that property.”
At the time, the legion reached out to Santa Rosa County Commissioner Colten Wright to see if an exception to the rule could be made.
“That’s when we realized that there was no variance process, there’s no grievance process, nothing," said Wright. “No exception that could be made. The rule was, you know, just the rule.”
“Trying to find spaces that are outside of the 2,500-foot rule has been incredibly challenging,” said Darra Flanagan, the head of marketing for Legion Post 378. She has been working with local authorities to increase the number of possible locations for the new home. “Speaking with the commissioners, speaking with the legislators, speaking with change-makers and influencers, and local dignitaries has been really helpful and we hope to continue on that path. We’d love to come and do presentations (and) talk about what our post is and how we help the community and talk about all the good we are doing and how important this post is to our local veterans.”
Relief from that rule could be on the way. In the spring, Commissioner Wright brought up the situation with the legion at a County Commission meeting. He now feels he has enough support to make changes to that regulation so it would not apply to the Highway 98 corridor.
“And on the US 98 corridor, the only restriction would be you could not have on-premises consumption of alcohol in an establishment directly adjacent to or contiguous to a church or school," said Commissioner Wright. “Meaning the distance (requirement) would go away, it just couldn’t be on the neighboring property. And there are signs right now that the board will adopt that at our September 18 Land Development Code Adoption Meeting.”
If that change to the land development code is made it will open up more possibilities for the post to consider, but cost will still be a factor. And as an American Legion Post, they can’t simply pack up and move to a new, less expensive municipality. The post has to be located in Gulf Breeze.
“It has to be in Gulf Breeze, it has to be commercial property,” said Amy Calderon, a member of Post 378 and a local real estate agent. Along with other members of the post, she has been looking for help from the Gulf Breeze community to find the perfect property so the legion can put down roots and grow. Given the current financial and real estate markets, it hasn’t been easy.
“I understand where interest rates are. I do this all day every day," said Calderon. “We are trying to find a needle in a haystack to be able to afford what we can because we don’t make money off of what we do here. We give it back to the community.”
“We really refer to it as the little legion with the big heart,” added Tom Lemaire, the second vice-commander at Post 378. “We do a lot for the community. People don’t realize how much we really, really support and donate to the community. We’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, probably, for different charities and programs. Between the Christmas programs that we have and the cancer rally and the Shamrock Ride, all the things that we raise money for. It’s really a big gift for the community.”
We really refer to it as the little legion with the big heartTom Lemaire
One big question surrounding the campaign to find a new home for American Legion Post 378 is the timing. Just how soon do they need to move? Post Commander Melissa Barnes says the pressure is on, but it’s not unbearable yet.
“You know the landlord is not that type of person that is going to say ‘You have to be out tomorrow.' He’s definitely not like that. But he’s a businessman, too. And as a business person, I get it. If we were to tell him we need a year, I’m sure he would give us that full year to do what we need to do. He’s not going to kick us out. But, we do need to find our own home.”
Flanagan was a little more specific.
“We are really hoping to be somewhere at the beginning of the year, or have a plan in place by the beginning of 2024,” she said.
In the meantime, Melissa Barnes has an invitation to everyone wanting to learn more about the “little legion,"
“Come down and visit us," she said. “When you come into our American Legion, we’re known as the ‘little legion.' We have lots of smiles. As soon as you walk in, we are welcoming. And I would just love for people to at least come in and stop in and sit down and talk to us. Just to educate yourself about what we are about. And if you don’t understand what we are about, I want to educate you, personally.”
“We are a part of the community. We are part of Gulf Breeze.”
