FRANKLIN

Members Chelsea Turner and McKenzie Jones of Girl Scout Troop 5100 recently undertook work on their Silver Award Project. The Silver Award is the second highest award level that can be achieved by a Girl Scout.

For the past few years, Troop 5100 has assisted in placing flags in Poplar Springs Cemetery. When considering what they wanted to do for their project, Turner and Jones immediately remembered a discussion with their project advisor, Amy Phillips, that the American Legion Post 73 — which sponsors the flag placement at Poplar Springs — desired to also honor those veterans at Southampton Memorial Park located on Pretlow Road. So, last year, the two girls began planning out their project. With assistance from their project advisor and parents, the girls made contact with the cemetery to obtain maps and begin compiling information on the site.

David Scott and Lonnie Vaughan, representatives from American Legion Post 73, agreed to assist the girls with undertaking the project, and the American Legion also provided the flags for the girls to place on the gravesites. Scott Phillips, who manages the Poplar Springs flag placement, also agreed to offer his assistance and knowledge in mapping out the cemetery and placing of the flags.

Turner and Jones, along with their mothers, fellow Girl Scouts Lillie Phillips and Laney Phillips, Scott, Vaughan and the Phillips met on May 11 and mapped out all marked veterans’ graves within the cemetery. Then, on Monday, May 20, with the assistance of their Girl Scout Troop members and the Troop Leader Rachell Grassman, the girls met with Phillips, Scott and Vaughan at the cemetery and placed flags on each marked veteran’s grave. The girls also went back to remove the flags after Memorial Day so that they can be reused for future years.