SUFFOLK, Va. — A nonprofit in Suffolk will be able to lay down thousands of veterans' wreaths this weekend thanks to help from the community.
Over at the National Guard Armory in Suffolk, volunteers were working quickly on Thursday to dress up 13,175 wreaths and pack them up on seven semi-trucks to be delivered to the Albert G. Horton Jr. Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
It's a tall order but a tradition the Horton Wreath Society has been honored to do for the last 16 years.
"The family members, they are so heart warmed and satisfied that their loved one is getting a wreath on the burial site, it just makes your heart very warm," Mike Yarbrough, president of the Horton Wreath Society, said.
Back in November, Yarbrough told News 3 they had concerns on how they were going to make this event happen this year.
At the time he said the organization was down about $10,000 of it's fundraising goal to pay off this year's wreaths.
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Part of the reason was because the costs of wreaths have gone up, but in just four weeks, that changed.
"As soon as I got on WTKR with my friend here John, the money poured in and because we were short, and we met our goal and exceeded it," Yarbrough said. "So now we're collecting residual money in order to purchase next year."
All the wreaths have now been delivered to the cemetery and are awaiting families of the fallen to come by on Friday to be placed on their loved ones grave.
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The weekend long event will be open to the public on Saturday with a ceremony at 9 a.m.
"We're honoring those veterans and fallen heroes and it really feels good," Yarbrough said.
If you would like to watch the ceremony on Saturday or lay a wreath you can catch a bus over at Kings Fork High School beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
