Wreaths Across America gala raises over $70,000

Updated Oct 16, 2017
wreaths-gala

A gala this week raised more than $70,000 to help support this year’s effort to place remembrance wreaths on the graves of U.S. military veterans.

The Capital Wheel at National Harbor was lit up like a remembrance wreath with a bow, shining green and red across the Potomac Tuesday evening.The Capital Wheel at National Harbor was lit up like a remembrance wreath with a bow, shining green and red across the Potomac Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday evening, members of the North American trucking industry gathered at the Gaylord National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland for the Truckload Carriers Association’s fifth annual charitable gala benefiting Wreaths Across America.

Attendees raised $73,583 to support WAA’s mission to honor U.S. military veterans. Money raised at the gala will help place more than one million wreaths on graves in cemeteries Saturday, Dec. 16.

The gala was hosted by Freightliner and Pilot Flying J.

“The service of TCA members, in combination with others in the trucking industry, has grown exponentially, from 30 loads hauled in 2008 to 450 loads hauled in 2016,” said TCA President John Lyboldt. “It’s moving to see, year after year, how the trucking industry comes together to support the Worcester family and Wreaths Across America’s mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach.”

The gala’s keynote speaker was Colonel Mark Tillman, pilot and commander of Air Force One from 2001-2009, including during the September 11 attacks.

The largest pledge of the evening was $50,000 from the National Association of Independent Truckers’ insurance partners TransGuard, and IAT Insurance Group.

As a special symbol of the event, the Capital Wheel at National Harbor was lit up like a remembrance wreath with a bow, shining green and red across the Potomac Tuesday evening.