Millersburg Lions honor veterans downtown in unique way
Lions Club members hang one of the 41 banners in Historic Downtown Millersburg that honor Holmes County's veterans.
Oftentimes communities will honor their veterans on specific days, like Memorial Day, Veterans Day or Independence Day.
The Millersburg Lions Club recently created a way to honor those who served in a more lasting way, turning Historic Downtown Millersburg into a nearly two-month span of honoring local Holmes County veterans who have served their country.
On Sunday, May 22, many of the Lions Club members united in Millersburg to complete the hanging of banners that feature photos of service veterans, along with the years they served and other information.
According to Millersburg Lions Club President Dale Obringer, the Lions were introduced to the idea of the veterans banner project by fellow member and veteran Debbie Mullen. She said she and her family were taking a trip through Tennessee this past year and saw a small town on their trek that honored their veterans in the same manner.
Mullen said she was immediately taken by the attractiveness, the powerful meaning and the commitment the town made to honoring its veterans.
“That had a huge impact on me, so I came back and talked to the Lions Club, and they backed it 100%, and everyone we’ve talked to has been very supportive of the idea,” Mullen said.
Mullen, an Air Force veteran whose father and grandfather both served in the Armed Forces, said she felt honored to see this project through, not for herself, but for them and the many other Holmes County veterans who served their country faithfully.
After returning from her trip, Mullen designed a Facebook page called Holmes County Hometown Heroes, which encouraged people to send in photos and pertinent information about any veteran they would like to see added to the banner program. In addition, the Lions Club members did a letter-writing campaign and advertised that families could purchase a sign and bracket, and it made an immediate impact. Obringer said they have gotten such a great response that next year’s project is already under way.
“It’s growing fast, and word of mouth has spread quickly, and we already have a number of people who are interested in joining for next year,” Obringer said. “We’ve already heard many wonderful comments from people thanking us and telling us it is a great way to honor our local veterans.”
The week of May 15, about two-dozen of the banners were hung in town, in places the Lions Club members didn’t feel were safe for them to hang. Obringer said the Lions would like to express a deep appreciation to Millersburg Electric, which volunteered its personnel to hang the signs that were higher than the Lions wanted to climb.
On Sunday, May 22, members of the Millersburg Lions Club gathered in Historic Downtown Millersburg and completed the Holmes County Hero banner project that had them hanging banners all around Millersburg.
“We are privileged to honor our local veterans through the project,” Obringer said. “We sold 41 banners that will honor our veterans. We sold so many that we ran out of lamp posts and had to figure out where to hang them. We will end up using utility poles and whatever we can find.”
The banners will be on display from Memorial Day through July 14.
“I know this community supports and celebrates its veterans so much, and we appreciate that,” Mullen said. “These individuals gave so much, as did their families. We want to make sure they are honored for their service.”
Anyone wishing to learn more about the program can visit the Facebook page, Holmes County Hometown Heroes, and anyone who would like to order a banner to honor a family member or deserving veteran can email Mullen at hchometownheroes@gmail.com.