By: Nick Powers | Fraser-Clinton Chronicle | Published November 13, 2024
CLINTON TOWNSHIP — This year’s Wreaths Across America ceremony will be held at noon on Dec. 14 at Resurrection Cemetery.
The Kiwanis Club of Clinton Township took the event over from the previous organizers, who helmed it for 12 years. Kerry Jantz, a board member with the Kiwanis Club, said the event is the second largest in the state behind Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.
“This is going to be a rebuilding year for us,” Jantz said. “We didn’t do all of this before, so we don’t know all the ropes. We’ll make it work”
Jantz said the club has been working with the previous organizers to continue the event.
“I knew them, and I had talked to them a few times,” Jantz said. “I said, ‘We can’t let this die. It’s a great event.’”
Jantz said the event involves an approximately 45-minute ceremony with a keynote speaker. Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon is the master of ceremonies for the event. Organizers have reached out to U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, to be this year’s keynote speaker, but haven’t received confirmation yet. Students will lay wreaths on predetermined graves of veterans in the cemetery.
The Kiwanis Club raises funds and receives donations in order to purchase the wreaths for the ceremony, according to Jantz. The wreaths are $17 each. Jantz said Mission BBQ is one of the businesses that raises funds for the event.
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It started privately in 1992 by Maine-based Worcester Wreath Company and expanded in 2005, according to the organization’s website.
“We remember our veterans for the price they paid,” Jantz said. “We honor them and then we try to teach the younger generation that freedom isn’t free.”
Resurrection Cemetery is located at 18201 Clinton River Road.