News

LOCAL BRIEFS: Good Citizens, Wreaths Across America, Teddy Bears for comfort

By Lightning Reports, Published: December 26, 2021

DAR honors Good Citizens

The Abraham Kuykendall Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution recently honored tdhree area high school students in its annual DAR Good Citizen Contest.  Pictured from the left are Good Citizens Chair Kim Graziano, Ashlyn Ramsey of Polk County High School, Kasey Jones of East Henderson High School and Madelyn Matlick of Veritas Christian Academy. Winners are chosen by school faculty based on dependability, service, leadership, patriotism, academic performance, community involvement and future plans. 

Wreaths Across America reaches Hendersonville

Military veterans buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hendersonville were honored during Wreaths Across America for the first time on Dec. 18, thanks to Four Seasons hospice and palliative care. The organization's the We Honor Veterans committee and dozens of volunteers participated in a memorial ceremony before displaying wreaths throughout the cemetery.
“This was the first time this nationwide event has been held at Forest Lawn and we believe it is the first time it has been held in Henderson County,” said John Knapp, a retired U.S. Navy captain and chair of the We Honor Veterans Committee.
Forest Lawn was one of 3,136 locations in the U.S. and abroad to host Wreaths Across America. The purpose of the day is to “Remember, Honor, and Teach.” With thousands of volunteers across all locations, 2.4 million wreaths were displayed to honor our veterans who have passed.
The Four Seasons We Honor Veterans committee looks forward to returning in December 2022 with enough wreaths to decorate all 1,240 veterans’ gravesites. If you are interested in learning more about Wreaths Across America at Forest Lawn Cemetery and participating as a sponsor or volunteer in 2022, please contact Development@FourSeasonsCFL.org.

Safelight to put various services under one roof

Safelight’s Night of Hope fundraisers has surpassed its goal to raise $250,000 towards their Hope and Healing Campaign. These funds will go towards paying off an additional building purchased in August and opening next year to bring programs together for clients to access services more easily and safely.

“We are happy to announce that we received over $254,000 in gifts and pledges towards our Hope and Healing Campaign, a three-year campaign with a goal to raise $2.2 million to pay off our new facility, add healthcare for staff, and rebuild our agency reserve fund after extreme losses in funding through Covid,” Safelight Executive Director Lauren Wilkie said. “We are grateful and overwhelmed by the generosity of our community. Night of Hope, our signature fundraiser, switched into five mini-events due to Covid-19. We would like to thank our event sponsors, donors, speakers, staff and volunteers for their dedication and support of our mission.”

Safelight’s new additional location at 317 N. Washington Street is within walking distance of its current offices and shelter on Fifth Avenue West and has enough space to house the Child Advocacy Center, Family Advocacy/Justice Center and Counseling Center Programs, with the capacity for these programs to grow and house their partners onsite as well. These programs will be together under one roof for the first time in Henderson County, with each program having a separate entrance, making it easier for survivors to access multiple Safelight services for a continuum of care.

Veterans help veterans

The Western North Carolina Military Officers Association of America collected clothing, toiletries, snacks, jigsaw puzzles, board games, calendars and other items and delivered them to veterans at the V.A. Medical Center in Asheville earlier this month. MOAA members who volunteered at the collection site at Hendersonville Country Club included, from left, Mike Pomponio, Patrick Makin, Kristina Egger, Rod Nunnelee, John Culp and Bill Meyers.

Father Mason retires from Episcopal Church of the Holy Family

The Rev. Dr. Chris Mason announced his retirement from the Episcopal Church of the Holy Family in Mills River, where he is concluding three years of ministry as the Priest In Charge. He began his ministry with Holy Family in January 2019.

Mason received his B.A. in history from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1971; M.Div. from the School of Theology of the University of the South in 1974; M.A.Ed. from East Carolina University in 1993; and Ed.D. from California Coast University, Los Angeles in 2007. He has served as a priest for more than 40 years in the dioceses of Southern California, Georgia, Southwestern Virginia and North Carolina.