Saturday, September 25, 2021

2021 Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award

The 2021 Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence was awarded to the of state of Idaho in recognition of Everlasting Tree’s Veterans Ceremonial Urn Cover Project. This award was accepted by Mark Tschampi, Idaho State Division of Veterans Services, Chief Administrator in Washington DC last week. It was then presented to John and Heidi for their Veterans Ceremonial Urn Cover Project.

John designed and created over eighty custom ceremonial urn covers for Veteran’s who are going to be inurned at a State Veteran’s Cemetery. Over forty Veteran’s State and National Cemeteries in twenty states have received these ceremonial urns.

This award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes excellence and innovation by honoring outstanding state programs that support veterans within their states. The Pillars of Excellence Award was established by the VA in 2012 and each year seven awards are presented. This is the VA’s pinnacle of excellence award. 

James Earp, Idaho State Veterans Cemetery Bureau Chief, and Marv Hagedorn supported this valued program and were instrumental in getting it submitted for consideration.