My Sq. has officially changed locations. We now have now moved to the Army Guard facility. We maintain 3 large offices with access to a large classroom that can easily seat 40 people. The facility is inside of a large gymnasium type facility. All meetings, drill, inspections, etc. can all be done inside. We also have access to full showers and restrooms, both male and female. The Army seems to be very supportive and is very receptive to us. We have been given the thumbs up for weekend activities as long as they don't fall on drill weekends.
For those in CA, keep us in mind if you are looking for a central location for an activity. The surrounding neighborhood is a bit......ummmm, rough, but the entire facility is secure and fenced. Hey...we cant have it all.
I am in the process of having the floors in my office enlaid with imported Italian marble and granite, and a stain glass inset purchased from a historic cathedral in Rome will set the tone I am looking for. A desk hand crafted from cedar created by master artisans from Argentina is on its way. I figure with the money I am now saving without paying rent, something nice for the commander was in order. mikey...that last part was a joke. ;)
^ Ah man....and I was going to start bashing away! >:D
Good job on the move though....... access to a secure location with areas you can control is always important. I am guessing you have access to the kitchen as well??
Yup....AND its in the process of being totally renovated with all stainless steel. The kitchen is huge. Next comes the latrines. The Guard is dumping about $400K into renovations at the building. We are pretty excited. And we dont pay a dime for it. This coming meeting, we are having a LONG "Dont screw this up" talk with our membership.
^ Man......thats a sweet deal. Does your SQD have a vehicle? I bet you can get one on the notion that the guard will most likely let you lock it up in their motor pool??
We do have a vehicle. And the Guard allows us to keep it in the motor pool. We also have a storage container / Con X box that they allowed us to drop in the motor pool also.
I am in the same boat, except, I don't have a vehicle or a ConEx. Anyone know where I can get one in PAWG for free?
We are in an Army Reserve Center as well...while the classrooms, and drill pad are great, our "office" space leaves something to be desired. It's about the size of a cubicle, and that's the sum and total of secured office space for us. But the benefit of free is nice.
Quote from: BigMojo on April 26, 2008, 01:05:24 PM
We are in an Army Reserve Center as well...while the classrooms, and drill pad are great, our "office" space leaves something to be desired. It's about the size of a cubicle, and that's the sum and total of secured office space for us. But the benefit of free is nice.
Don't be too picky or critical about it. My unit got booted out of the Army Reserve center we had met in for at least 20 years, thanks to a change in facility managers and increased security post 9/11. Prior to that, the old facility manager loved us, and we never had problems with access.
Our use agreement was pretty much what FlyingPig has with his armory. We had the run of the whole building, any time we wanted, as long as there wasn't a unit drilling that weekend (the center was home to a CSH and a small MI detachment). We had keys to the building, we could store file cabinets there, and they gave us 6 or 8 wall lockers.
It threw our unit into a tizzy. We spent the summer, and most of the fall meeting in the utility room at the end of a row of T hangars at the local airport (also our storage facility, unheated, and not suitable for unit meetings in November, in Michigan), until we got into a local high school. Of course, the school booted us once they let out for the summer. So, it was back to the airport until September, when we were finally able to get into the firehouse we meet in now.
I love meeting at the firehouse, but I'd give anything to be able to get back into that reserve center.
Good to hear there FlyingPig. I'll have to come down and visit some time.
BTW, if you are interested, my sqn is probably going to be having an FTX 17-18 May provided we get an OES #. I'll send more info if you are interested. All GT stuff though.
Let us know.
I've been telling some of my cadets how lucky we are to have a building of our own. We used to meet in a building that was so old and run down, that you could see daylight thru the cracks in the walls. About 2 years ago, we moved to a new building about 15 miles away, still on an airport. It used to be an FAA Service Station. They still have radios in one room, but we have access to the rest of the building. Now we have office space, kitchen, class space. Guess it helps that one of our members is the airport ops manager. Only bill we have to pay now is phone. It's like heaven.
Glad you finally got out from under that rent. Sounds like you have finally scored.
I am so used to the nice facilities we have in Hemet, that I forget sometimes everybody doesnt get that kind of deal. I appreciated your coming to our Mountain Clinic last summer, if you organize something at your base, I will certainly try to make it. However, if my plane breaks down, I will need to fly yours home. LOL.