CORRECTION: Due to a reporter’s error, a story on page 3 of last week’s edition misstated that the Rotary Club of Peabody organizes a Veteran’s breakfast. It is organized by Peabody Veterans Services. The Weekly News regrets the error.
Residents gathered at City Hall Saturday for the city’s Veterans Day ceremony. At the ceremony’s conclusion, the Rotary Club invited attendees to walk to Courthouse Plaza to clean the surrounding area of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
The walk was led by the Veterans Memorial High School Junior ROTC Honor Guard, veterans, Rotarians, and public officials, including state Reps. Tom Walsh and Sally Kerans, who marched across the street to the monument. The event itself was organized by Rotary Club Service Coordinator Stephanie Johnson and Air Force veteran Herb Harris. The Veterans Service Department hosts Veterans Day breakfasts every other year, and Johnson explained that the Rotary Club has recently made efforts to implement impactful service projects during the off years.
“Peabody rotates each year for a veterans’ breakfast, and on the off year we wanted to do something a little more expensive,” Johnson said. “People that maybe would typically be attending that breakfast would now be available to help us with the service project.”
The Soldiers and Sailors Monument symbolizes the history of veterans dating back to the Civil War, and Johnson said that the Rotary Club will now be in charge of maintaining that area going forward. Rotarian Emily Cooper explained why the site was in need of some maintenance.
“We try to find opportunities for service in the community all the time and we noticed that the area in front of the courthouse had been looking a little worse for the wear recently,” Cooper said. “Lots of weeds growing between the cracks and it just didn’t have the same polish that it has in prior years.”
Harris said that he and Johnson combined the ideas of a walk and raising money for the Veterans Department with a service project. The Rotary Club has received approximately $400 in donations so far and is still accepting them at https://peabodyrotarytaste.com/virtual-happy-dollar/.
