In 11 years, Missouri Post 114 in Sikeston has raised more than $300,000 for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.
For 11 years, Henry Meldrun Post 114 in Sikeston, Mo., has made fundraising for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in nearby Bloomfield a passion project. It started with the purchase of a new bell tower at the cemetery and has grown from there – including one of the post’s Legion Family’s largest donations ever to the cemetery earlier this month.
With this year’s $43,801 donation, Post 114 has now surpassed more than $300,000 to the cemetery. Those donations have gone on to fund central heat and air, a state-of-the-art sound system for the committal shelter, LED lighting for the flagpoles, grounds upkeep and landscaping, and a new fountain in the cemetery’s lake.
Post 114 Service Officer Blair Moran, who serves as president of the cemetery’s Assistance League – the nonprofit fundraising arm of the cemetery – said the donations have been vital for the cemetery.
“We’ve been able to enhance the cemetery because of these large donations,” Moran said. “It’s been a godsend for us at the cemetery. This money’s gone to good use.”
The donated funds are raised through a two-day event that takes place in the spring; this year’s took place April 25-26 and included an American Legion Riders Chapter 114 Poker Run, a cornhole tournament, a live auction and a barbecue cook-off that this year drew more than 20 teams. Moran said the event is a team effort, led by American Legion Auxiliary Unit 114 and event chairman Vickie Wilson.
The cemetery isn’t the only beneficiary of Post 114’s generosity. Moran said through the post’s gaming machines, it has been able to donate more than $1 million over the past 10 years to the Missouri Education Revenue Fund, which provides the state and local funding that supports public education in Missouri. The money comes from the revenue from state-provided Lotto machines at Post 114.
But fundraising for the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield remains a priority, and Moran said the effort wouldn’t be as successful without partners.
“I think our community appreciates the cemetery,” he said. “We have 5,200 interred at the cemetery now. We get wonderful support from the businesses and individuals in the Sikeston community for this endeavor. They think it’s a wonderful cause, and they come up and make nice donations to help us make these big donations each year to the cemetery.”
- Community