Desoto County
Vietnam Era Memorial
May 9, 2012 through May 14, 2012 Desoto County will be hosting a large event to honor all Veterans of the Vietnam Era. There are several parts to this event. For this reason, the event volunteers have been broken down into several committees.
The next meeting will be held on Monday March 5th, at 6:30 pm, at the American Legion Post 134, 2520 Goodman Rd. W. Horn Lake, Ms., 38637. Anyone interested is encouraged to participate and to attend this first meeting. There will be a lot of decisions to be made and we welcome all ideas and suggestions.
The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors invites those who are interested in volunteering with this event to take a look at the committees that are in need of volunteers.
To sign up for a committee please email gmatheny@desotocountyms.gov or call 662-429-1460. Include your name, the committee you wish to volunteer with and your phone number. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours (working days) of receipt.
The committees are as follows:
Publicity – Getting the word out to the community that the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall is coming. This includes attracting volunteers and notifying Veterans of the event and welcoming them to participate.
Landscaping – The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Walls requires that we place mulch in front of the Wall: this covers the rails and gives a place for people to leave items. They also suggest adding shrubs, small trees or flowers at each end of the wall. These would be removed when The Wall leaves. Tasks of the committee could include doing the work, planning the work, and/or contacting local florists and lawn & garden business regarding the loan of shrubs.
Set up of the Wall – The Set‐Up team will be briefed on how to set up the Wall. It will take about 5 hours for set up depending on the number of volunteers. We must have a minimum of 15 volunteers, but we want to have at least 30 volunteers for the set up. Additional volunteers could help with the preplanning.
Take down the Wall – The Take‐Down team will be briefed on how to take down the Wall. It will take about 3 hours to disassemble to take down The Wall. Again we need a minimum of 15 volunteers, but we hope to have 30. We must leave the Civic Center property as we found it.
Escort – This committee will escort The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall into our community and to the DeSoto Civic Center.
24 Watch –The Wall must be staffed with two volunteers 24 hours a day. The length of time each volunteer may contribute to the Wall is flexible, but we must cover all the time slots.
Hospitality – This important committee will provide snacks and water and coffee to the volunteers. We need people who will contribute snacks and water/coffee, people who can monitor and replenish the snacks and water/coffee, people who can get donations or prepare water/snacks/coffee. Your participation time can vary from small to significant, and from in advance of the event to on site work. But there is a place for everyone on this committee.
Law Enforcement – This committee coordinates with local law enforcement for traffic control and other services.
Roll Call – This committee will coordinate an event to read each and every name on the wall. We need a company who specializes in technology related to the event to allow people throughout the county to read the names aloud on a recording that will be broadcast while the wall is there. Everyone can participate in this event and become part of the effort to honor our Vietnam War Era Veterans.
Name Locator – Participants on this committee will assist visitors with finding the names on the wall. The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall require, due to the sensitivity of the visitors, volunteers working the locator booth must be adults.
Program – This committee will prepare a program(s) for participants who visit the wall and/or participate in the programs. Computer skills OR organizational skills is all that is required.
Opening Ceremony – This committee plans the opening ceremony.
Tribute to Veterans – This committee plans the Tribute to the Veterans.
Closing Ceremony – This committee plans the closing ceremony which will include retiring the Colors, Taps, and a tribute to the 77 MIA veterans from Mississippi.