HAMLET – Patriotism and love for our country and the men and women serving in uniform are alive and well in Richmond County!
Sheri Dunn-Ramsay, director of institutional effectiveness for Richmond Community College, rallied support from Dr. McInnis, president of RCC, and established “Our Heroes’ Tree” as a part of celebrating our local veterans. Before coming to RCC eight years ago, Sheri worked at the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University and there met one of the founders of Our Heroes Tree, Marlene Lee. Sheri was so inspired by Lee’s selfless service that she conducted this program across her home state of Indiana.
“Our Heroes’ Tree is a national initiative that bridges military and civilian communities by honoring the service and sacrifice of U.S. service members and their families. Communities, classrooms, families and groups come together to discover and celebrate the names and stories of family members, friends, neighbors, and others who have served or are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. They create remembrance ornaments that are hung on a tree honoring the legacies of American service people.”
Today’s ceremony was patriotic with presentation of the flag by a JROTC cadet honor guard from Richmond Senior High and two stunning renditions of the national anthem and America the Beautiful.
Several people came forward to present ornaments to acknowledge the service of their relatives and close family members. The most emotional moment came when Nancy Rheault read a letter that her grandmother wrote to the mother of a man killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her letter asked her to be strong and that her son’s death was not in vain.
The “Our Heroes’ Tree” will be on display in the Cole Auditorium lobby until November 10th. Anyone wanting to go by to prepare and hang an ornament can do so when the lobby is open.
