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The ADVANCE, December 29, 2021/Page 13A
Wreaths Across America
Communities Honor Fallen Service Members and Veterans
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Communities across
America honored fallen
soldiers and veterans by
placing wreaths upon
gravesites and memori
als on Saturday Decem
ber 18. These ceremonies
were held by local Veterans
of Foreign Wars (VFW)
chapters and other patri
otic enthusiasts.
With help from Boy
Scout Troop #933 and lo
cal citizens, the Vidalia
chapter of the VFW and
Auxiliary placed wreaths
upon the graves of veterans
in the Lyons City Cem
etery. Following the plac
ing of wreaths, participants
gathered for a short memo
rial ceremony that featured
the performance of “Taps”
by Vidalia High School
Student Hunter Loosberg.
“We are here to re
member and honor our
veterans and servicemen,
but also to teach the youth
about the importance of
those who have sacrificed
for our freedom,” Vidalia
Ladies’ Auxiliary Presi
dent Shirley Curl com
mented. “It is important to
remind ourselves what this
all means, where we get
our freedoms and why we
should cherish them.”
After the memorial at
the cemetery, participants
traveled to the VFW Me
morial on Highway 280
near Walmart to place
wreaths at the memorial.
Citizens of Montgom
ery County also gathered
to honor United States Ser
vicemen at the Montgom
ery County VFW/POW
Memorial on the County
Courthouse Square.
Montgomery County
VFW Post #10229 Mem
ber Wanda Fountain led
the ceremony, as VFW
Members James Hance,
Buddy Adams, Jim Bork,
Russ Little, Rick Robin,
Samantha Higgs, and
Carl Fountain placed the
wreaths.
“This year, across our
country, at more than
2,700 participating loca
tions like this one, there
are millions of Americans
gathering safely as one na
tion to remember, honor,
and teach,” Fountain told
the crowd. “We are proud
to be Americans that live
in a free society made up
of many people from many
walks of life.”
She continued to em
phasize the cost of free
dom, as she explained
“freedom is not free.” VFW
members placed wreaths
on each pillar of the memo
rial to honor each branch
of the military, along with
those currently serving,
and Missing in Action
(MIA) and Prisoner ofWar
(POW) veterans. The cer
emony concluded as Loos
berg performed “Taps” for
the crowd.
“We are honoring
the generations of those
that have gone before us
and that are yet to come,”
Fountain said. She stressed
the imperativeness of these
memorial events in the
community. “If we do not
fight for our morals and
beliefs, then we will lose
them,” she stated. “It is our
duty to teach the younger
generations to respect and
honor those who fight for
our freedoms so they may
one day teach the coming
generations.”
Community members
also gathered in other lo
cations for the laying of
wreaths on December 18,
such as Lakeview Memori
al Gardens, where another
memorial service was held.
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
TEACHING YOUTH -- Boy Scout Troop 933 assisted in the laying of wreaths at the Lyons
City Cemetery, as the elder members of the community emphasized to them the im
portance of these memorial activities. Here, Scout Zachary Eckert places a wreath on
the grave of a serviceman.
Pittman Named District
Engineer for Southeast Georgia
Georgia Department
of Transportation Deputy
Commissioner Brad Saxon
is proud to announce that
Troy D. Pittman, P.E. is
now DOT’s District En
gineer for the Southeast
Georgia District.
Pittman was promoted
to district engineer effec
tive December 1, taking
over leadership of Geor
gia DOT operations in the
26 counties that comprise
DOT’s District Five in
southeast Georgia. He suc
ceeds Robert McCall, who
recently retired from the
Department after 32 years
of service.
“Troy brings a vast
range of knowledge and
leadership skills to keep
District Five moving for
ward in this important eco
nomic development region
of Georgia,” Deputy Com
missioner Saxon stated.
“His diverse background
in design, preconstruction,
maintenance and construc
tion, along with his edu
cation and training, will
Troy Pittman
benefit him to successfully
lead in delivering the best
transportation services to
southeast Georgia citizens,
businesses and visitors.”
The new district leader
began his career with the
Department of Transpor
tation in 1993. During his
career, he has held vari
ous leadership roles in the
Southeast Georgia District,
including District Design
Engineer and Savannah
Area Engineer. Most re
cently, Pittman served as
District Preconstruction
Engineer.
As District Engineer,
Pittman is responsible for
more than 400 employees
and provides executive
oversight for the ongoing
programmatic operations
and district activities on in
terstates and state routes in
DOT’s District Five.
A native of Effingham
County, Pittman graduated
from Georgia Southern
University with a bach
elor’s degree in civil engi
neering technology and
is a licensed professional
engineer in the state of
Georgia. He and his wife,
Tammy, have five children
and reside in the City of
Glennville.
Pittman is also a Ma
jor with the 165th Airlift
Wing Georgia Air Nation
al Guard in Garden City
where he serves as a Bioen-
vironmental Engineer. He
also served in various roles
from Civil Engineering Of
ficer, Base Civil Engineer
and Acting Commander
for the Civil Engineering
Squadron.
Call 537-3131
When You See
News Happen
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
HONORING FELLOW SERVICEMEN - Montgomery County VFW Members hosted a me
morial ceremony on the County Courthouse Square, where wreaths were placed to
honor members of each branch of fhe milifary. Here, VFW Member Russ Litfle places a
wreath to honor those who served and are serving in the United States Air Force,
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PROUD VFW -- Montgomery County VFW members expressed their gratitude to the
community for participating in this event. Here, the members stand in front of the
Montgomery County Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial. L fo R: Wanda Fountain, Rick
Robin, Buddy Adams, Samantha Higgs, Jim Bork, James Hance, Carl Fountain, Russ
Little,
Meadows ER Nurses with Compression Socks
Meadows Auxiliary Donates
Compression Socks to
Hospital Employees
The Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital Auxil
iary recently donated socks
to hospital employees.
“For our December proj
ect, we wanted to give the
employees compression
socks to show apprecia
tion for all their hard work
and long hours of being on
their feet all day,” said Lisa
Parker, Meadows Hospital
Auxiliary President. “We
were able to provide them
through the generous sup
port ofDan Gillet of Adorn
from Atlanta, one of our
vendors who comes twice
a year to the hospital for a
$6 jewelry and accessories
show.”
Auxiliary members
serve in various areas of
the hospital, and their mis
sion is to support the local
hospital and community.
Meadows Gift Shop is the
main source of revenue to
raise funds that support
hospital and community
projects, and is staffed en
tirely by volunteers. Gift
shop hours are Monday
through Friday, from 9 a.m.
to 2 p.m., and on Saturday
from 11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
