Karie White noticed Iola will have a pair of events to honor local veterans this weekend, but nothing on Veterans Day.
The annual Veterans Day Mess Call, a dinner honoring those who served, will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at the John Silas Bass North Community Building.
Saturday’s 11 a.m. activities include a keynote address from Julia Thompson, a National guard specialist and Iola police officer.
But with nothing organized for Tuesday, Veterans Day, White is organizing a lunch and series of drawings to show her support.
“It doesn’t take a big organization or a big budget to show appreciation,” White said. “Sometimes, it just takes one person willing to say, ‘I’ll do something.’”
White, a part-time cashier at Bomgaars in Iola, convinced store manager Lorinda Boring and a handful of other friends and acquaintances to help put together a Veterans Appreciation Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Bomgaars store, 1918 N. State St.
ACTUALLY, it’s a misnomer to describe it as just lunch.
“It just kind of started out as a lunch, but it started to grow,” White said.
In the span of a little more than two weeks, White has pulled together quite an event.
Bomgaars will provide hot dogs, chips and drinks for the grab-and-go lunch. Boring will handle the cooking.
Meanwhile, fellow Bomgaars coworker Emilie Milliken hand-crocheted an American flag for the drawing. Another friend, Teresa Weatherbie, made up a hand-crafted floor mat. Kristi Lay of Lbcountry Lighting in Coffeyville donated a patriotic-themed solar light decoration. Ryan and Jordan Janzen crocheted a hat and drink koozie.
White also “voluntold” her boyfriend’s mother, Loretta Ellis, that some homemade cookies would be much appreciated.
“She said, ‘Sure, I can do that,’ before realizing I was asking her to make about 200 of them,” White laughed.
Other prizes added to the haul. Weatherbie, who works at B&W Trailer Hitches, convinced her bosses to donate a trailer hitch. Another friend, Mike Dougherty of FastLube of Iola, is donating a free oil change.
The drawing will be open to any veteran who stops by Bomgaars Tuesday during the event, although they need not be present to win.
“I didn’t want to pressure people to make them think they had to do something,” White said.
