Palmetto, GA – July 8, 2011 – In honor of local veterans and their families and in recognition of the Vietnam War’s 50th anniversary, the Coweta-Fayette Trust, Inc. Board of Directors/Operation Round Up recently awarded $2,500 to the Coweta Commission on Veteran’s Affairs for its sponsorship of “The Traveling Wall – the Wall that Heals.”
The wall, a near half-scale replica of the permanent Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., is presented by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and travels the country as a symbol of sacrifice and a testament to the healing power of remembrance.
According to Commission Co-Chairs Malcolm Jackson and Joe Brooks, this mobile version of the Vietnam Memorial will be displayed at the Coweta County Fairgrounds Oct. 20-23. The Wall will have an accompanying museum exhibit and will be open free of charge 24 hours a day.
Out of the over 58,000 estimated U.S. casualties during the Vietnam War, 21 of those were Coweta residents.
“The debt of gratitude we owe our veterans is staggering,” said Coweta-Fayette EMC CEO Anthony “Tony” Sinclair. “We are proud to help honor them by contributing to this noble endeavor.”
Operation Round Up is a Coweta-Fayette EMC program that contributes more than $250,000 each year to worthy groups in the cooperative service area. These awards are made possible by voluntary contributions from EMC members whose monthly electric bills are “rounded up” to the nearest dollar. The difference between what is actually owed and the next highest dollar is placed in an interest-bearing account, and this money is managed through a separate board of directors, the Coweta-Fayette Trust.
Coweta-Fayette EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 74,000 member accounts in Coweta, Fayette, Heard, South Fulton, Clayton, Spalding, Troup and Meriwether Counties.
Coweta-Fayette EMC’s Operation Round Up Trust Board members Rodney Riggs (second from left), Pam Clemons and Ben Sewell (far right) present a $2,500 donation to Malcolm Jackson (far left) and Joe Brooks (middle) of the Coweta Commission on Veteran’s Affairs. Funds will be used to bring a traveling replica of the Vietnam Memorial to Coweta.
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Amy Lott