A new era begins for American Legion Post 127 as they celebrate the grand opening of their new facility in Sugar Hill. Close to 70 people from the American Legion, as well as members of the local community, came out Saturday, May 22, to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility.
American Legion Post 127’s commander, Gary Evans, hosted a ceremony to officially dedicate and open their much anticipated Sugar Hill location.
People young and old enjoyed barbecue, potato salad, baked beans and an array of desserts in honor of the special event. Inside, friends sat catching up with one another while outside a musician played for the small crowd enjoying the covered patio.
The new location for Post 127 has been many years in the making.
In 2016, the city of Buford bought out the original home of American Legion Post 127 that sat for decades on Sawnee Avenue to expand a school parking lot and to make necessary improvements to the legion fields.
The American Legion began looking for a new place to call home and settled on a piece of property once owned by the city of Sugar Hill off Suwanee Dam Road. Post 127 obtained their building permit in December 2017. The construction of the building began in 2018 and was not completed until early 2021. The project experienced numerous delays due to rain and other issues causing the project to take three years to complete. Post 127 was without a building to gather for a period of time as they moved out of their Buford location in 2019. They first opened their doors in Sugar Hill on April 17, 2021, under a temporary certificate of occupancy.
The new home of Post 127 signifies a new era for this group of veterans and others associated with the American Legion. With the new facility has come a more family-friendly approach with no smoking allowed inside of the building.
The facility was built to help Post 127 earn extra money by renting out a portion of their facility to those wishing to hold events there. A new commercial kitchen was a must for the new building so groups looking to rent out rooms had a place to prepare food, as well as to prepare food for the many events the American Legion holds annually.
The main room for Post 127 called the Club Room is where the group holds its official gatherings and hosts weekly events such as bike nights, live musical performances, bingo and trivia nights. The Club Room also features a full bar and a room that holds two pool tables that are open to the public. If those amenities are not enough to keep one busy, there are also coin machines or coin-operated amusement machines to test one’s luck. The events and amenities of the Club Room are open to the public Thursday through Saturday and the bike nights are held the third Monday of every month.
A conscious effort to appeal to younger generations of veterans is being made. Post 127 hopes it leads to this group of veterans to join the American Legion. Currently, Post 127 has 400 members and counting, as well as 100 Sons of the Legion, 60 American Legion Riders and approximately 50 members of the American Legion Auxiliary.
For more information on American Legion Post 127 including their upcoming events, visit their website at legion127.us or check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Post127SugarHill.
Featured photo above: American Legion Post 127’s commander Gary Evans (center) officially opens the new home for the post in Sugar Hill. Photo by Alicia Couch Payne
The end of an era
