Last year, the Rock Hills FBLA group made a donation through the local VFW Auxiliary to Wreaths Across America, a program that places a wreath on the graves of veterans buried in national cemeteries during the Christmas season.

In order to make the activity a bit more meaningful for members, the chapter decided to do a similar activity this year in Jewell County in order to remember and honor deceased veterans. This week, FBLA members are finishing more than 1,000 grave sprays and putting them on veterans graves across Jewell County. They hope to be finished by Sunday. The project has been slowed down because of the pandemic, but members are quickly working to catch up on time lost prior to Thanksgiving when Rock Hills schools were remote for two weeks. The first sprays were placed by Jerrod Gillett and his cousins, Lily and Claire Walker, in early December at the Highland Cemetery in the northwest township of the county.

According to Jacob Underwood, chapter president and one of the coordinators for this project, it would not have been possible for the chapter to do this community service event if it weren't for the help of several of the chapter's professional members and other people from across the county, including the VFW Auxiliary, FFA, middle school art students, and the American Legion Jr. Girls Auxiliary. A Thrivent grant was received through the efforts of Corlene Lange, professional FBLA member, to help with the costs of the materials. Other professional members have also donated materials for the project.

The grave sprays will be kept in the cemeteries until right around January 1 and then will be retrieved to reuse in future years. Students have learned a lot from this project, including team work, starting and completing a project, and reading plat maps. If, after Dec. 20, a veteran's grave does not have a spray, Dr. Railsback, chapter adviser, can be contacted at the school or via e-mail at [email protected] and one will be placed.