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Washington County veterans program reports endowment growth, monuments dedications and local guitar-therapy relaunch
Summary
At the June 25 Washington County DHS meeting, veteran services staff reported private fundraising and an endowment sustaining memorial and flag programs, previewed monument dedications in Kewaskum and described a locally funded continuation of the Guitarists for Vets therapy program after the national organization paused operations.
Kurt, veteran services staff, told the Washington County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on June 25 that the county’s long-running World War I and Civil War monument project is nearing completion and will include upcoming dedications.
“The July 18 dedication is for two monuments in Kewaskum for Holy Trinity Cemetery and St. Lucas, and there will be a September 6 dedication at Van Vecten Cemetery,” Kurt said, listing dates for public events.
Kurt said the monument effort has been funded entirely with private donations over more than a decade and that the project’s endowment, held at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, is now supporting annual program expenses and earning additional returns. He said the subtotal raised over the project’s 12-year run will be “well over $100,000” in private dollars.
Kurt also reported on the county’s Memorial Day operations, saying staff placed flags at about 6,000 veteran graves and handled one reported missing flag. He added the endowment provides a cushion for periodic purchases of flag markers and holders.
The county has observed a shift in burial practices, Kurt said: more veterans are being cremated and families are delaying interment or retaining cremains. “We have seen a little bit of a change in statistics for the veteran population,” he said, describing how that affects demand for markers and flags.
Kurt described a funding interruption at the national Guitars for Vets program and explained the local committee’s response: Washington County will run a privately funded guitar-therapy program while the national organization resolves funding and inventory issues. He said eight veterans are currently on a waiting list for the local program.
Supervisor Trotner and other supervisors praised the private endowment model and the monument work during committee discussion. Committee members asked follow-up questions about appointment tracking and veteran service data; Kurt said the office is tracking activity but that the dataset is too young to show clear trends and staff will review it again in several months.
The report did not propose new policy actions; committee members thanked staff and moved on to the next agenda item.
Ending: The HHS committee did not vote on any changes to veteran services funding at the June 25 meeting; staff said they will continue monitoring visitor and appointment data and will circulate further updates at future meetings.
