There are groups, organizations and professions in our society that are having difficulty attracting members or employees.

We have seen the decline in entities such as area veterans organizations in recent years. Some do not even have their own buildings anymore.

Some civic groups, which work for the betterment of their communities, also have seen numbers slide.

The same can be said of what some fire departments face. And police departments. Minnesota chiefs of police recently put out a call to try to attract more young people to consider careers in law enforcement.

What is happening to these groups and professions is that many of their members are aging, or passing away in the case of veterans groups. Younger people are not showing interest or joining.

We believe all of this is having and will continue to have a detrimental effect on communities.

So it is heartening to see efforts to try to reverse the trend. Such as the creation of “Post 1905” in Truman, established by the Truman Fire Department.

The post is open to area youth ages 14-21 who are interested in learning what is involved in being on a volunteer fire department. The Boy Scouts of America and Valero provided grant funding to establish the organization.

The first meeting of Post 1905 is 7 p.m. tonight at the Truman Fire Hall. We hope area youth, and their parents, take note. For more information, call Matt Lange at (507) 217-3956.