On Saturday morning, Dec. 13, members of the Exchange Club of Chandler and hundreds of volunteers will partner with the Valley of the Sun Cemetery and Mortuary, the Chandler Elks Lodge #2429, and the Phoenix Exchange Club to host the Wreaths Across America Day Event.
Members of the organizations and the volunteers will lay thousands of Remembrance wreaths on the graves of fallen heroes at the cemetery, while saying the name of each veteran aloud.
The wreath-laying event will be followed by a formal ceremony at 10 a.m. that honors each branch of the military, the active duty personnel in the military, and living veterans.
Mark Whitaker, a member of the Exchange Club of Chandler and the Wreaths Across America Day Event Chair, will be there.
As he walks through the cemetery on the chilly December morning, he will not only think of those who paid the ultimate price for serving their country, but also of his late brother Michael Whitaker, who retired as a major from the U. S. Air Force.
“As a veteran, Michael brought the Wreaths Across America event to the Exchange Club of Chandler as an Americanism project to honor his fellow veterans,” Whitaker says. “I was fortunate to help Michael with the Wreaths Across America program for several years.”
After his brother passed away, Mark, along with the other members of the Exchange Club of Chandler, which is a local chapter of the National Exchange Club, wanted to keep Michael’s spirit alive by continuing this patriotic project.
“While the Wreaths Across America Day Event is important to the Exchange Club of Chandler because of Michael’s legacy, it is even more important because it builds community here in Chandler and gives Chandler residents a way to come together to remember the service and sacrifice of Chandler veterans,” Whitaker notes. “We anticipate having hundreds of volunteers, so the wreath laying should be finished before the formal ceremony.”
Volunteers are also needed for the Exchange Club of Chandler’s many other ventures that take place during the year, Whitaker notes. In addition to the Wreaths Across America project, the local Chandler chapter of the Exchange Club stays busy all year long working on a number of projects.
As Whitaker notes, all local Exchange Clubs operate under four key Programs of Service: Americanism, Youth, Community Service, and a National Program of Service, which is Raising Awareness to Prevent Child Abuse.
“For example, in March, during Read Across America, the Chandler Exchange Club goes into a Chandler Elementary School and reads to the children, and we take lunch to the teachers and staff,” Whitaker says. “We welcome those we call Friends of Exchange to volunteer to help us read to the kids.
“Every April, [which is] Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month, we partner with the Chandler Domestic Violence Commission to stand up the Field of Hope, which is a memorial to victims of child abuse, in Downtown Chandler.”
In May, club members select a senior who has overcome adversity to graduate and honor them with the Exchange Accepting the Challenge of Excellence (ACE) Award and give them a scholarship to help them continue their education.
“Each September, we help the Tempe Exchange Club stand up the 9/11 Memorial Healing Field® (a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks) in Tempe Beach Park," he says. “In October, we honor Chandler First Responders. We work with the Chandler Fire Department and Police Department to recognize the Exchange Club’s Chandler Firefighter and Police Officer of the Year.”