Richmond Community College will once again be honoring veterans this fall with an Our Heroes’ Tree® program in Richmond County and Scotland County. 

Our Heroes’ Tree® is a national initiative that bridges military and civilian communities by honoring the service and sacrifice of U.S. service members and their families. Communities, classrooms, families and groups come together to discover and celebrate the names and stories of family members, friends, neighbors and others who have served or are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. They create remembrance ornaments that are hung on a tree honoring the legacies of American service people. 

Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. - Tree Presentation

RichmondCC will hold a special ceremony at the Cole Auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 10 a.m. to present the tree and its ornaments to the public. This event is free and open to the public. 

Ornament Making Sessions

The College and other partnering organizations will hold several ornament making sessions prior to the event. As sessions are known, they will be published below.

• Saturday, September 9 at 1 p.m. at the VFW Post 4203 in Rockingham (106 Old River Road)
• Wednesday, September 13 from 12 to 1 p.m. with the Hamlet Senior Center's Veterans Group
• Wednesday, September 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Covington Street Building on the RichmondCC Laurinburg Campus
• Friday, September 22 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the Touch-A-Truck event at the Cole Auditorium
• Wednesday, September 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. outside the RichmondCC Cafe

If you would like to schedule an ornament making session at your organization or for more information about where to get materials to make an ornament for the tree, contact Sheri Dunn-Ramsay at (910) 410-1907 or srdunn-ramsay@richmondcc.edu.

National Program

Hosted in more than 30 states and on U.S. military bases in 10 countries, Our Heroes’ Tree® was created by Marlene Lee and Stephanie Pickup in 2005 to show appreciation for the U.S. Armed Forces. They have worked with RichmondCC to develop the program that will be presented in September and provided an ornament template for people to use to create their ornaments. However, people are encouraged to design their own ornaments.

The tree will remain on display at both locations until Veterans Day on Nov. 11. People can pick up their ornaments the week immediately after Veterans Day when the Our Heroes’ Tree® display ends.