Greenville veterans were honored with a special celebration last Saturday at Haywood Estates retirement community, located at 1180 Haywood Road.
Haywood Estates residents, members of the American Legion Post 3, and more than 60 people from the local area attended the Freedom Days event, which included a presentation of the colors, patriotic music from The Upstate Senior Band, refreshments, patriotic decorations, and a special Wall of Honor dedication.
The Wall of Honor features 22 pictures of Haywood Estates’ veteran residents, spouses of current residents, and a current resident’s son. The tribute includes the emblems of all four military branches as well as two pictures of each veteran – one recent photo and one military photo. The centerpiece of the Wall of Honor is the flag used in the color presentation.
Haywood Estates’ employee and Desert Storm veteran Glenn Gothard helped develop the Wall of Honor.
“It was a very special occasion,” Haywood Estates manager Elaine Burin said. “Obviously, this was something that is near and dear to our residents. We try to do a lot of events with veterans in mind. It has been fun hearing their stories and finding out what their experiences were.”
The Wall of Honor resides in Haywood Estates’ library near the entrance of the community, and the public is welcome to visit and view the tribute.
“We still have people coming down and looking it over,” Burin said.
In celebration of this event, Haywood Estates is also giving seniors the opportunity to win free rent. Through Sept. 30, 2010, any senior who tours the community will receive a Freedom Days scratch card for the chance to instantly win up to five years of free rent at the community.
Haywood Estates, a Holiday Retirement community, provides independent senior living. It opened in Greenville in 1989. For more information on their upcoming veterans events, call 864-288-8093 or visit www.haywood
estates.com.