Honoring ‘commitment’
Wreaths exhibit signifies importance of veterans
Photo by Jessica Rex Pictured are local coordinators and volunteers of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit, along with the exhibit’s drivers: Patrice Cook, Debbie Kellogg, Julie Anderson, Anne Wagner, Dave Nobles, Skyla Govier, Kristi Kulka-Leichtenberger, Stacey Krespan, Linda Boutelle and Barbara Lynn Cole. Not pictured are Judy Kuzminski, Kristy Kuzminski and several local volunteers.
Photo by Stacey Krespan Forty-two Vietnam veterans were welcomed home last week, each recognized when they visited the exhibit. Pictured here are from Lakewood, Vietnam veteran Joe Siperek and wife Laurel, with Debbie Kellogg during a special welcome home pinning ceremony inside the mobile exhibit.
Photo by Jessica Rex Pictured are local coordinators and volunteers of the Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit, along with the exhibit’s drivers: Patrice Cook, Debbie Kellogg, Julie Anderson, Anne Wagner, Dave Nobles, Skyla Govier, Kristi Kulka-Leichtenberger, Stacey Krespan, Linda Boutelle and Barbara Lynn Cole. Not pictured are Judy Kuzminski, Kristy Kuzminski and several local volunteers.
Photo by Stacey Krespan Forty-two Vietnam veterans were welcomed home last week, each recognized when they visited the exhibit. Pictured here are from Lakewood, Vietnam veteran Joe Siperek and wife Laurel, with Debbie Kellogg during a special welcome home pinning ceremony inside the mobile exhibit.
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The Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit was brought to the Warren County Fair last week and served as a reminder of the importance of remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring those who have served and currently serve, and teaching future generations why their stories matter today and always.
Local coordinators and volunteers of the Wreaths Across America organization made it possible for the Mobile Education Exhibit to come to Warren County. Stacey Krespan, Skyla Govier, Judy Kuzminski, Kristy Kuzminski, and Barbara Lynn Cole worked together to bring it to the fair this year. Location coordinators for the Wreaths Across America are responsible for getting approval from cemeteries, identifying the veterans buried, and letting headquarters know how many veteran wreaths are needed. They also organize fundraising efforts all year round to get sponsors in order to place the wreaths over headstones each December, on National Wreaths Across America Day. The theme for this year is “Remember Me.” Last year, more than 3.1 million wreaths were placed in 5,500 cemeteries across the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam.
Stacey Krespan, originally from Warren County and a 1988 Eisenhower High School graduate, has been a location coordinator in Charlotte, N.C., since 2019. Starting as a volunteer wreath layer, she shared that the Wreath Across America first came to a few cemeteries in Warren County from places in Sugar Grove, Lottsville and Youngsville.
Krespan's father, a Vietnam veteran, is her biggest reason for participating. When she learned about the program, she said, "I appreciated the fact that when my dad dies he'll be in Arlington and I know that somebody will come back and remember him every year when I can't."
She supports Wreaths Across America for several more reasons. Among them include a Marine who spoke about choosing to join the military after a friend was killed in Iraq, giving up a full ride scholarship for football at Alabama. Another, Krespan said, was when she watched another veteran hold a piece of the World Trade Center. She oversees a cemetery in Charlotte where 2,500 veterans are buried. She meets families and sees the deep impact it makes on them. She feels truly honored to be part of something so incredible.
At the fair, during the America 250 Celebration ceremony, speakers touched on the history of the military, the resources available in the county and the importance of the nation's military for why 250 years is more than a milestone in history.
Krespan spoke of the importance of it, reminding us of the courage, sacrifice and conviction that gave birth to the USA.
She said, "It asks us to look back with gratitude, to look around with responsibility and to look forward with a renewed commitment to the freedoms that have been entrusted to us."
She went on to say how we pause to remember the ordinary doing extraordinary by answering the call, generation after generation who all believed that liberty was worth defending and they stepped up to the task. Pointing out that Warren County played a large factor in the American Revolution, and that we are surrounded by neighbors and families that are part of a generation that shaped a nation not yet formed.
The mission of Wreaths Across America is simple yet powerful: remember, honor and teach. Choosing to remember the cost of liberty by honoring those that defend it and teach future generations why it matters.
The wreaths are symbols of gratitude and that a life of service does not fade. The gratitude must be carried from one generation to the next and display patriotism in quiet acts of remembrance.
Not only does the exhibit provide awareness for all ages, but being here also brings awareness for the Wreaths Across America organization.
The 48-foot trailer was driven on Route 6 through Warren and on to the fair late Tuesday evening escorted by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the Conewango Police Department. The Starbrick Volunteer Fire Department had a beautiful display as the trailer drove past, and those exiting the fairgrounds got to view it and were likely enticed to visit another day to see what it was all about.
Coordinators, volunteers and the traveling ambassadors are extremely thankful for the honor to bring the exhibit to Warren County. They send a thank you to everyone at the Warren County Fairgrounds who helped make getting the exhibit into the park such an easy and welcoming experience. They do this because the stories of our heroes deserve to be remembered, their sacrifices deserve to be honored, and their legacy deserves to be taught to the generations who come after us.
If you missed the chance to see the exhibit at the fair, Krespan said it will be visiting again. For updates, follow the local Facebook pages: Wreaths Across America: Sugar Grove and the Blue Star Moms Kinzua PA203.