Service Meets Tradition: Hopkins FFA Chapter’s Mission to Honor America’s Veterans

Flag retirement performed by Kimberly DeWeerd and Ellise Wedge. Photo credit: Shelly Wedge.

As the heat consumes the stripes and stars, the Hopkins FFA Chapter remembers each flag’s final moment of valor, purity, and justice, which it represents. Twice a year for the past three years, the chapter has hosted a retirement ceremony for its members and the local community to participate. According to U.S. flag code, when a flag is dirty, torn, and tattered, it is no longer a suitable symbol of our nation. To honor the nation’s freedom and dignity it stands for, it is proper for it to be retired by flame. From the flag collection box in town they maintain, they are able to retire six barrels of flags each year.In Hopkins, Michigan, the FFA chapter honors the last part of the FFA Creed, “preserving the best traditions of our national life,” through their Civil War Committee. They provide educational lessons from the Civil War era to students, give families the opportunity to appreciate the sacrifices made by service members, and have an Honor Guard made up of FFA members. Established by Hopkins FFA Alumni President and Senior Vice Commander of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Gen. Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20, Comer Skinner, about the impact their Civil War Committee and Honor Guard makes on their members and community he said, “Our goal is to educate our young generation that freedom isn’t free. Men and women gave their life so we can be free. We’re honoring, educating, and teaching”.

Hopkins FFA has the only known Honor Guard in the National FFA Organization. These students are recognized by their rural town and Michigan FFA as the on-call Honor Guard for all events.

Memorial Day Celebration. Left to right, front row: Comer Skinner, Jillian Erickson, Leah Jablonski, Addy Laarman, Ellise Wedge, Harry Kiraly. Left to right, back row: Steven Kaczanowski, Chase Laarman. Photo credit: Vicki Swainston.

They’re invited to local town celebrations, parades, and Civil War soldier grave dedications, and they partner with Gen. Benjamin Pritchard Camp 20, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, to locate unmarked Civil War veterans in cemeteries in Southwest Michigan. They apply for a government-issued headstone, install it, and organize a public ceremony so these soldiers can be recognized for their service. 

FFA members and alumni are installing a headstone marker for a Civil War veteran’s unmarked grave. Photo credit: Comer Skinner.

The committee also visits local elementary schools and teaches the U.S. Flag Code to young students. The Brothers from Camp 20 share their family ancestry and display their family heirlooms from the Civil War era. With fewer resources for the next generation to personally connect with the nation’s history, veterans, parents, and all citizens alike deeply appreciate the efforts of the Hopkins FFA Chapter. Their committee also serves the local area by cleaning the cemeteries biannually. 

For two decades, the chapter has been honored to present the colors at the Michigan FFA Region One Officer Training Camp and to be invited to perform the ceremony at the Michigan FFA State Convention.

Michigan FFA Region One Officer Training Camp Honor Guard. Left to right: Sofia Berens, Addy Laarman, Ellise Wedge, Hope Reed, Madi Veldheer, Leah Jablonski, Carlton Petroshus, and Comer Skinner. Photo credit: Jessica Couch.

These opportunities allow the chapter’s members to learn the value of honoring their nation as well as creating a moment for the event-goers to halt for a period of somber reflection.

As a chapter-wide service project, members fold miniature flags that once flew beside service members’ tombstones into small triangles. These folded flags are handed out at events that their Honor Guard attends. They encourage FFA members to put the folded flag in their blue jacket’s pocket so they can carry a reminder that the freedom they have is fought for and that the flag stands for unity.

In addition to a school-wide Veterans Day assembly, the Hopkins FFA Chapter hosts a breakfast for the guests of honor. Students from leadership class and FFA members volunteer to cook and serve a pancake meal. 

Serving up the Veterans Day Breakfast from left to right: Kenadie Rewa, Kallyson Bishop, and Kellen Mays. Photo credit: Jessica Couch.

The veterans connect personally with the students, and it gives them a deeper understanding of the student body’s appreciation for their service. 

Last year, the chapter participated in the Wreaths Across America event and plans to make it a tradition of their committee. This event spans across every state in the nation. On Dec. 19, 2026, volunteers from over 5,500 cemeteries will lay wreaths on veterans’ graves and say their names aloud to preserve their personal sacrifice.

Leah Jablonski lays a wreath at Oakwood Cemetery for Wreaths Across America. Photo credit: WWMT Channel 3 News.

As the Hopkins FFA Civil War Committee expands their patriotic service projects, the students hope to inspire more chapters to take on the responsibility to memorialize the nation’s symbol and veterans who defended it. A tremendous start is by participating in the Wreaths Across America event with your chapter, alumni group or family. Find a cemetery near you who participates in the Wreaths Across America Mission: https://wreathsacrossamerica.us/About/LocationAndGroupSearch.