Bannock County veterans inch closer to donation goal needed for renovations to historic Memorial Building
Sam Ross
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– The Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association is asking people to help them make the final push to reach their donation goal for repairs to the 100-year-old Memorial Building by the end of August.
In March, an anonymous non-profit organization donated $100,000 to the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building to fund repairs after flooding destroyed the building’s ballroom and lower-level walls and left the veterans with a $300,000 bill.
The organization also promised they would send another $100,000 if the veterans could match the funds in donations by August 29. Currently, the Veterans Memorial Association stands only $36,000 away from its goal.
From now until the August 29 deadline, the non-profit organization will double any donations made to the veterans in an effort to make the most of the eleventh hour.
“Between now and next Friday, anybody who makes a donation to help with that, your donation will be doubled; so if you donate two bucks, it’ll become four, if it’s 200, it’ll be 400, if you can give us a thousand, your donation will be turned into $2,000,” said Bud Smalley, a veteran of the US Marine Corps and member of the Marine Corps League and Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association. “This is our last push, and I’m sure we can make it.”
Before the December 2024 flooding shut down the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building, it was used to host regular veteran meetings and get-togethers and rented out for parties, weddings, and funerals. The building was also the site of Bannock County Judge Rick Carnaroli’s ‘Veterans Court’, which helps veterans in trouble with the law find restitution and rehabilitation options besides prison time.
For more information on the Bannock County Veterans Memorial Building, or to make a donation, you can visit their website at www.bc-vma.org.