Fundraiser Saturday for Smithville's Veterans Memorial Park

A nonprofit with a mission to honor veterans will be hosting a fundraiser Saturday at Smithville'sVeterans Memorial Park.

Partners of the Smithville Texas Memorial Park, was founded in 2014 with the mission of honoring local veterans. To do so, the nonprofit maintains walls at the park that represent each branch of the military, and are engraved with the names of local veterans.

The fundraiser will be held at the park, 311 NW Second St. in Smithville, and kick off around 10 a.m. with competitive activities such as corn hole tournaments, horseshoes and washer toss. It will cost $20 for teams of two to participate.

Lunch starts at 11 a.m. and will include barbecue with potatoes, beans and peaches for dessert. Regular plates will cost $12, and children servings will cost $6.

There will be a silent auction after lunch that will run until 1:30 p.m., and at 2 p.m. a live auction will begin. The evening will close out with music. Country artist Briana Adams is set to take the stage from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and will be followed by Nashville recording artist Darby Ledbetter who will perform alongside his brothers.

Ledbetter's concert will run from 7 to 10 p.m. For both concerts, a pair of tickets will be sold for $15, or $8 for each performer.

Nina Jadd, assistant director of the organization, said the focus of the event is to uplift and honor veterans for their bravery and courage.

"Without our soldiers, we don't have our freedom," Jadd said. "They're out there fighting and have given up their lives for our freedoms, and to me that's a deep meaning right there."

Jadd's husband, Crawford Jadd, served in the military from 1965 to 1968. It's difficult for him to speak about what being a veteran means to him without getting overwhelmed with emotions.

"It's just a privilege to be able to work and honor the veterans that have served in this community," the Smithville native said.

About 5,000 to 6,000 names are engraved on the walls at Veterans Memorial Park, Nina Jadd said.

"It's a very emotional place to go and walk around and see the names of your family and friends there," she said.

Many family-fun activities are set for Saturday, but Kathy Lynch, secretary of the organization, said the purpose of the day is to raise money to maintain the park and continue adding names to the memorial walls.

"The park stands for sacrifice, service and freedom," Lynch said.

©2022 www.statesman.com. Visit statesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.