CORTEZ – In 2013, the Bradenton Elks Club began an annual event to spend a day fishing with local veterans, and 10 years later, it’s still going strong.
This year’s fishing trip featured eight boats and 31 area veterans hitting the water on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, March 22. The trip was made possible by a grant from the Elks’ National Foundation.
“This year, Bob Slicker helped me by putting me in contact with two people, Pete Anderson and Daniel Colson,” Elks member Mike Dinius said. “They reached out to the veterans they know and they put the group together.”
Eight local captains provided their boats and services to make this year’s fishing trip a reality. According to Dinius, the fish were biting that day and the catch was good. Thanks to Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker, they didn’t have to throw their catches back in the water, since his restaurant had an afterparty where he provided drinks, appetizers and cooked their catch for dinner.
The person on each boat who caught the most fish also won a Slicker’s shirt to remember their successful day on the water.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – With the holidays just weeks away, the annual sponsorship drive to support Wreaths Across America is underway, and the local Blue Star Mothers chapter is hard at work looking for wreath sponsorships from Island residents and anyone else in the area who wishes to honor a veteran this Christmas season.
The wreaths were part of an annual tradition that was started by Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine. The company had an excess of wreaths in 1992 and the owner, Morrill Worcester, remembered a boyhood trip to Arlington when he was 12 years old. He decided to get the wreaths to Arlington to honor our nation’s veterans.
This plan would require more than just Worcester donating the wreaths, and that wouldn’t be a problem as a number of other individuals and organizations stepped up to help. James Prout, owner of local trucking company Blue Bird Ranch Inc., generously provided transportation all the way to Virginia. Volunteers from the local American Legion and VFW Posts gathered with members of the community to decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. Members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped to organize the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Wreaths Across America became an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 2005 after a photo of wreaths on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery went viral on the internet. Thousands of requests came in from all over the country from people not only wanting to help out with Arlington, but to also emulate the projects at their local national and state cemeteries. Through the efforts of volunteers nationwide, hundreds of thousands of wreaths are laid on graves at veterans’ cemeteries nationwide.
This 2005 photo of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery on a snowy day was the beginning of the Wreaths Across America organization. – Submitted
Anyone wishing to sponsor a wreath can do so by contacting the Southwest Florida Blue Star Mothers Chapter FL4. This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization plans to lay thousands of wreaths at the Sarasota National Cemetery, the closest national VA cemetery to the Island.
All Christians laid to rest at the cemetery are given a wreath unless their families have stated they don’t wish to have decorations on their loved one’s graves. All other families have either their wishes on file, or are contacted by Rosentrater to make sure their wishes are kept top priority.
With over 21,000 graves at Sarasota National Cemetery, is there ever a shortage of wreaths, and what happens if this is the case?
“We happen to have the Patterson Foundation, and they pledge that if by a certain date if there are not enough wreaths they will cover the difference, and it’s rare that you would have a family do that,” said Ferris-Fearnside.
Since Wreaths Across America is a nationwide effort, there will be some cemeteries that have a surplus of wreaths, in which case they will be given to a region that may have come up short, making sure nothing goes to waste.
If you sponsor a wreath, it’s not just a financial donation. You are welcome to come to the cemetery and assist in laying the wreaths; in fact, it’s encouraged. Blue Star Mothers is asking that all payments be submitted by Nov. 22 to assure delivery by Dec. 18. The date for laying the wreaths has not yet been announced.
Wreaths are available for a donation of $15 each and you can purchase as many as you wish. Make checks payable to SWF Blue Star Mothers FL4, P.O. Box 495301, Port Charlotte, FL 33949. You can also send payment to Karen Ferris-Fearnside, 1257 Spoonbill Landings Circle, Bradenton FL, 34209. If you have any questions please call Linda at 941-456-1920.
ANNA MARIA – The City of Anna Maria will host a Memorial Day ceremony under the shade sail structure at City Pier Park on Monday, May 28 beginning at 10 a.m.
The Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra is scheduled to perform patriotic music from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
“It should be a tremendous, patriotic and inspiring event. It’s all patriotic tunes and the orchestra is really looking forward to it,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said.
Rev. Ed Moss of CrossPointe Fellowship will give the invocation at 10 a.m. Murphy will then welcome and recognize the dignitaries and government officials in attendance.
Joined by a trumpeter and a bagpiper, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard will present the colors and Taps will be performed. Lt. Col. Bob Johnson (U.S. Army, Ret.) – the mayor of Holmes Beach – and Capt. George Barford (U.S. Navy, Ret.) will place a memorial wreath.
Murphy, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, will recognize all veterans in attendance and their spouses and significant others.
City Pier Park is located across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier, at the corner of Pine Avenue and South Bay Boulevard. First-come, first-served free seating will be available for about 400 people. Parking will be available near the pier and along South Bay Boulevard.
Free park-and-ride trolley service will be available near the entrance to the city at CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive.
