Dear Michael,

The intensity of preparations for the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation events at Arlington National Cemetery disappears the day after Memorial Day, but there is still much work for us to do.  First and foremost, to thank the record number of 2000 volunteers who signed up to honor those who have served our country.

The Foundation organized three events at Arlington National Cemetery this year.

On Saturday, May 28, the Foundation coordinated with ANC to have over 20,000 flowers available for visitors to place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On Sunday flowers were provided to sponsors, donors, and volunteers to place at sections around the cemetery.

On Memorial Day Monday tables were set up at the Welcome Center for visitors to receive flowers for placement at headstones. Gold Star Families were given flowers as they entered on Memorial Avenue. Sponsors made enough flowers available for all of Section 60 and volunteers placed flowers at each of the over 14,000 headstones.

Behind-the-scenes

Thirty “Core Volunteers” worked tirelessly to prepare the flowers for the three days of events.  These perennial volunteers came from all over the country, including California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the DMV; internationally volunteers travelled from El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador.

In-kind support

The flower industry donated half of the 250,000 roses and summer flowers for Arlington National Cemetery.  Transportation for all the flowers was donated by Armellini Express Lines, Younger & Son, DV Flora, and Bergey’s Leasing Associates.

This year proved challenging.  Worldwide logistics are still plagued by the effects of the pandemic, and the conflict in Ukraine put even more pressure on flower cargo flights from Colombia and Ecuador.  At one point, flights were delayed for a week, and there we thought the 100,000 sponsored flowers from Latin America might not arrive in time at Arlington National Cemetery.

The flower industry from California, Miami, and New Jersey came to the rescue, pulled product from their inventories, and made more flowers available than we ever had before.

Sponsors and Supporters

Partner: CalFlowers

Platinum Sponsors: Peraton, DGCI, TD Bank

Gold Sponsors: Abe & Minna Bacarra, BallSB, Cisco Systems, Flowers of Colombia, Maggie & Tom Sheedy, Van Scoyoc

Silver Sponsors: Amcham Ecuador, Miller-Shah, Travis Spouses Club, Truist, Victory for Veterans

Bronze Sponsors: ATA LLC, Amazon, Arcfield, Ben & Amy Chew, Blue Star Mothers of America, Calvin Fouche, Carrie Kristensen, Cox Communication, Huron Consulting Group, John & Janet Galloway, Michael Black, Morphworks, Nancy Greco, Offutt Officers’ Spouses’ Club, Poppy Flowers, Robert & Ginny Weinstock, United Bank

In-Kind Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors: Armellini Logistics, Holland America Flowers, Jet Fresh Flowers, Passion Growers, Sole Farms, Younger & Son

Gold Sponsors: 7000 Logistics, Bill Doran Wholesale Florist Austin, Bill Doran Wholesale Florist Denver, Bouquet Collection, DV Flora, Mayesh Wholesale, The Elite Flower, The Queens Group

Silver Sponsors: Bergey’s Leasing Associates, Equiflor, Fresca Farms, Galleria Farms, Kennicott Brothers Grand Rapids, Mellano & Co, Natural Flowers, Rokay Floral, RosaPrima, Stellar Farms, USA Bouquet, Valleflor

Bronze Sponsors: Agrogana, Bioflor, Coexflor, Ecuatorian Flowers, Floraser, Florequisa, Ofelia Flowers, Star Roses

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