VFW Post 9138 dove into the 21st century recently with multimedia upgrades throughout the Harris Road facility.

Following a series of fundraisers over the past year, the post is now equipped with wireless Internet broadband service, high definition TVs, a digital projector and a video distribution system that can display the same audio, video or multimedia presentation on monitors throughout the building.

The post also has a commercial kitchen and meeting rooms that can accommodate 50 to 150 people.

"Multimedia was a feature we wanted because that's the future," Post Senior Vice President John Marker said. "Everything is integrated. We can flood the whole facility with it."

Marker got the idea to turn the post into a multimedia center after searching in vain for a facility in York County that had the same features. He had been asked by the state VFW to deliver some presentations on the computer donation program the post spearheaded a couple of years ago when local National Guard members deployed. The post collected computers from the community and set them up at various National Guard armories so families could keep in touch with deployed troops.

"There was nothing, even in Rock Hill, that did equipment rentals or even had a facility with multimedia equipment," he said. "Everywhere I looked I was told I'd have to go to Charlotte for it."

With the installation of the new technology, the VFW can offer services no one else in the county can match for presentations, corporate training and other events. The wireless Internet connection the post installed has room for up to 25 users, and the post can even rent it out and set up the wireless hotspot at someone else's location.

The digital projector it uses can also be rented out even if the group using it does not have a projection screen.

"You can customize it to the color of the wall you want to project it on, even blackboards," Post Commander Bill Trask said.

Trask and Marker, both of whom have backgrounds in information technology, have been leading the effort to integrate the new technology into the post. Other post members have also been trained to use the equipment, but overall it is designed to be simple to use.

"Plug and play," Marker said.

The equipment has "intelligent technology," which means it is advanced enough to know what to do with any media input.

"If the employees want to do a movie night, they don't have to worry about who's going to be here to run the equipment," Marker said. "All you have to do is turn it on and pop in the DVD, it knows what to do with it."

So far, the upgrades have cost approximately $3,500, Marker said. Fundraisers specifically for the project covered that cost. Additionally, some of the equipment was donated to the VFW. Members will get a discount rate as compared to the general public, but Trask said whatever the charge is for nonmembers, it will probably be less than the going rate in Charlotte.

For more information, call (704) 547-5480 or visit www.vfw9138.org.