GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - At their July 5^th regular meeting, the Gridley VFW Chapter 5731 said goodbye to their former Commander Ed Kawasaki and others that have served the group.

Kawasaki has been acting as commander for the post for the last two years. He said that his decision to step down was simply that it was time for a change.

The post put out a call looking for current VFW members to fill the positions of Commander, Quarter Master, and Adjutant.

Post 5731 chose Mike Farr as their new commander and his son Todd Farr, to replace Ron Scheyer who acted as both Quarter Master and Adjutant.

Commander Farr, who also serves as Gridley’s Mayor, has been at the helm of the post for a little over a month now. Farr says his desire to become more active in the group was due to concern over dwindling post membership and the real chance that the Gridley VFW Post could be lost. “We want to keep the post active because it is such a benefit for our community,” says the new commander. Farr also hopes to get Veteran’s Memorial Hall actively rentable once more, as it has served the community as an events venue in the past.

Kawasaki will continue to act as a liaison with Butte County, which owns Veterans Memorial Hall where both the VFW and American Legion groups hold their meetings. Kawasaki will manage the rental of the facility according to the new Director/CEO of General Services at Butte County, Mike Hodson. As for his replacement, Kawasaki has high hopes for the new commander, saying “I look forward to helping him, and look forward to working with him.”