The Southsider Voice
Visit us at these places!
  • Home
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • Sports
    • Car Nutz
    • Stilley Goes Trackside
    • Southside Deaths
    • Personal Recollections
    • Reminiscing
  • About the Voice
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Classifieds

Amtrak employees honor veterans through creation of memorial garden 

9/24/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
PHOTO BY TOM MCFARLAND Tom Carper, a member of Amtrak’s board of directors, helped to dedicate the memorial.
Picture
PHOTO BY MIKE MILBURN The plaque under the bell reads: “This Flag Trio and Floral Garden are made possible by the Employees and Management of the Amtrak Beech Grove shops. Dedicated this 18th day of September 2014 In Honor of Our Veterans. We Salute You!”
Picture
PHOTO BY TOM MCFARLAND Employees at the Amtrak facility took up a collection for the event and donated the funds to the Wounded Warrior Project. The check for $620 is being held by John Mellenbaugh (left), local chairman of the Transportation Communications International Union, and Bob Moriarty, plant manager. It’s being accepted by Tom Carper, a member of Amtrak’s board of directors.
In 2013 as members of the Locomotive Shop Leadership Team at Amtrak’s Beech Grove Maintenance Facility, Rob Boling and Tim Tumey, spearheaded the recruitment of volunteers from the shop to contribute funds for the design and construction of a veterans memorial.

That project has come to fruition as the commemorative area features flagpoles displaying Old Glory, an Indiana state flag and a prisoners of war flag. The poles are surrounded by a flower garden with walls adorned by medallions from all branches of the military.


The memorial also includes a bell with an accompanying plaque. The bell will be used to usher in a new tradition for employees as they will ring it on their first and last days of work.


The Indiana National Guard provided an honor guard that presented all three flags at the Sept. 18 dedication ceremony, which featured speeches by Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley and Tom Carper from Amtrak’s board of directors.


The guard also presented a skit titled “The Last Patrol,” in which four of the facility’s veterans participated: Joe Guthrie, Army; Mike Milburn, Navy; David Dykstra, Air Force; and Bob Duguay, Marines.


General Electric hosted a Hiring our Heroes job fair in front of the memorial after the dedication. The Department of Workforce Development and Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs were also on hand to help veterans with building their resumes and interview tips.


“I received tremendous feedback all day long from our sponsors, prospective employees, event organizers and our distinguished visitors,” said a board member. “Comments like ‘This is the best veterans hiring event we’ve ever been to,’ and ‘Your employees were the friendliest and most helpful they’d ever seen at any event like this’ were common. 


“As I watched everyone helping to set up and clean up the area, I was struck by the incredible teamwork and pride everyone showed. I could not have been prouder.”

1 Comment
Robin Boling
10/23/2014 07:24:30 am

Thank you so much for covering this event. It was are goal to honor our veterans by creating a lasting memorial to them. I wish we would of had more news coverage to show the community how much we at this facility care. I had no idea that your paper was even printed which I could have had a copy. Thanks again. Sincerely Robin Boling

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Arts & Entertainment
    Lead Story
    Sports: 500
    Sports: Basketball
    Sports: Track

    RSS Feed

 DROP OFF: The Toy Drop 6025 Madison Ave., Suite D
Indianapolis, IN  46227  |  317-781-0023
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 17187, Indianapolis, IN 46217

ads@southsidervoice.com | news@southsidervoice.com
Website by IndyTeleData, Inc.