Woman’s Club of Lakeside made some important decisions recently, they voted on how to spend their money in their community. The members presented several wonderful ideas, but the two that shined and got the most votes were: Final Honor and National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
Woman’s Club of Lakeside made some important decisions recently, they voted on how to spend their money in their community. The members presented several wonderful ideas, but the two that shined and got the most votes were: Final Honor and National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.
Andrea Canfield nominated Final Honor. In fact the Club took a field trip to see for themselves the way that Final Honor works. Seventeen club members drove to Miramar National Cemetery to be a part of a funeral of a military man. They were in the procession following the hearse with an urn in it. It was a somber, delicate situation because the family was there to bury their loved one who had served in the military, to help keep America free.
The striking black hearse with glass sides was hand made by a local veteran and it was pulled by a beautiful white horse, to the burial site. That was the Final Honor. Sometimes the veteran’s family does not know that their loved one will be receiving this Final Honor, and it is a wonderful memory for them. The only other place in the USA that the Final Honor is preformed is in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. There a service person has to be high ranking, but in Miramar National Cemetery any rank service personal can have the Final Honor.
Suzanne Porter is the CEO of Final Honor and keeps her horse in Ramona and trailers it to Miramar for up to 10 military services every Monday, rain or shine. As a special surprise for Final Honor and Lakeside Woman’s Club, the Home Shopping Network on TV had also donated $1000 for this deserving charity, because Canfield had written a letter requesting their support, this was also on national TV.
The second nomination for receiving funds was from Barbara Whitlock. She nominated the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. She said that it was founded in 1996 and a search dog, named Bella was given to Lakeside fire fighter, Richard Smith, at no expense in 2013. The dogs are trained in Ojai, California. The mission of Search Dog Foundation is to strengthen disaster response in America by recruiting rescued dogs and partnering them with fire fighters and other first responders. The goal of the organization is to have 450 trained dogs in the U.S. which can be used for earthquakes, terrorists attacks, tornadoes, train wrecks and collapsed freeways, etc.
The search dogs have remarkable sense of smell, navigate unstable terrain, the ability to work off lease to get to places humans can not access. Training costs about $15,000. The Woman’s Club of Lakeside gets things done and believes in “Paying it Forward”.
