Today’s Wreath’s Across America event at the Woodland Cemetery marks a first for the local organization.

For the first time in their six-year history, they have raised enough funds to put a wreath on all 1,100 veteran’s graves.

This was something that local founders Juanita Southers and Linda Dalton always strived for. They got involved with Wreaths Across America after Southers and her daughter saw wreaths being put on all the graves in Arlington National Cemetery.Moved by the ceremony, Southers and Dalton decided they wanted to do the same for every veteran interred in Woodland Cemetery. Every year, they raised funds, organized an event with a speaker and got volunteers to mark as many graves as they could.

When Southers got sick last year, she turned the organization over to new Wreaths Across America coordinators and her last request was that they fulfill her dream of getting a wreath on every veteran’s grave.

Southers passed away in July, but her dream lives on.