July 2026 Community Update | America's 250th Fourth
On the nation's 250th birthday, the flags rise at Azario — and the promise to remember those who served carries through every season.
This Fourth of July is unlike any in our lifetimes — America’s 250th. At Neighbors in Service, we mark it the way we mark every season of remembrance: by showing up. This Independence Day edition leads with the flags rising at Azario’s entrances, then carries into the year-round work of honoring those who served — across our region’s cemeteries, in the records that keep their names, and alongside the neighbors who walk, run, and gather with us.
Raising the Flags at Azario
Before there was a program, there were neighbors. From 2022 through 2024, Karen Hernandez and the volunteers of the Azario Sunshine Committee lined our community’s entrances with American flags for Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day — a small, faithful act that turned an ordinary drive home into a moment of remembrance.
This Independence Day, Neighbors in Service is proud to carry that tradition forward — and to grow it. More than 30 Azario neighbors have volunteered to place and retrieve the flags this Fourth of July, and going forward NIS will organize the displays across all three holidays. In 2026, those flags fly on a Fourth of July unlike any in our lifetimes — the nation’s 250th.
Placement: Friday, July 3
Retrieval: Monday, July 6
And on the Fourth itself, come say hello: NIS will have a table on the Veranda behind the Wellness Center, right alongside the Azario festivities and the Bahama Bar & Pool. Stop by, meet the team, and learn how to get involved.
A flag at the gate is, at heart, the same gesture as a wreath on a grave: a way of saying you are not forgotten. Thank you to everyone raising the colors with us this weekend — and to Karen Hernandez and the Sunshine Committee, for starting it all.
Not yet on Team Reach? Join with code AZNIS4VETS to stay connected with NIS events and volunteer opportunities.
Old Memphis Cemetery Joins Our Mission
We are honored to share a milestone: Neighbors in Service has added Old Memphis Cemetery in Palmetto to the cemeteries we lead and sponsor through Wreaths Across America. The addition has been approved by the State, and we look forward to honoring the veterans who rest in this special, historic place.
Old Memphis is sacred ground. Platted in 1904 in one of the area’s historically Black neighborhoods, it is the resting place of farming families and of 46 veterans who served from the World Wars through Korea and Vietnam. This spring it was vandalized — and the community answered. Over Memorial Day weekend, more than a hundred neighbors came out to clean the stones and place flags, and the county committed funding for security and restoration. This December, NIS will bring Wreaths Across America to Old Memphis for the very first time — so that on December 19, these soldiers, too, are remembered by name.
Old Memphis joins Mansion Memorial Park in Ellenton, the anchor of our effort and the resting place of roughly 1,700 veterans. We are grateful to share that more than 1,000 wreaths have already been donated for Mansion — and our goal is to reach all 1,700, so that no veteran there goes unremembered. Beyond these two, NIS continues to work alongside local organizations across Manatee and Sarasota counties, with a long-term vision of honoring every veteran in every private and historic cemetery in our region.
Sponsor a wreath through our NIS page: wreathsacrossamerica.org/FL0675P
Remembering Them by Name
Honoring a veteran begins with knowing their name — and this summer, the Azario Genealogy Club, led by Lauren Quinn, is taking up that work alongside Neighbors in Service.
In support of the NIS Wreaths Across America campaign, the club will help ensure that every veteran laid to rest in our local cemeteries is properly recognized on Find a Grave. Beginning in August, volunteers will update memorial records, create memorials for veterans who are not yet listed, and upload photographs of grave sites and headstones whenever possible.
Find a Grave is a free, volunteer-supported website that allows people to locate the burial places of family members, friends, veterans, and notable individuals. As the world’s largest online collection of cemetery records and memorials, it serves as an invaluable resource for genealogy, historical research, and preserving the stories of those who came before us.
By improving these records, we not only support Wreaths Across America but also create a lasting tribute that makes it easier for families, historians, and future generations to find and honor the service of our nation’s veterans.
Interested in helping? The Azario Genealogy Club welcomes new members — join on Team Reach with code FamTree25.
Azario Run/Walk Club — Stronger Together
In May, the Azario Run/Walk Club took its first step beyond our own borders. Nearly 40 Azarians laced up and joined the 11th Annual SRQ Vets Memorial Hike — our first club event outside Azario, and a powerful show of what this community can do when it moves together.
The next adventure is bigger still. On Saturday, September 12, 2026, Neighbors in Service and the Azario Run/Walk Club will travel to Fort Myers for the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk, held at Florida Southwestern State College (8099 College Parkway) at 7:45 AM. 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of September 11 — and we will run and walk to honor the heroes and legacy that inspired the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
Watch for registration and carpool details from NIS and the Azario Run/Walk Club. We are also exploring ways to work alongside Tunnel to Towers on future races closer to home. Walk. Run. Remember. — Stronger Together.
Save the Date — VVAS Marine Corps Birthday Ball
Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 14, 2026: Valdez Veterans Alliance Services (VVAS) hosts its 4th Annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball & Fundraiser at the Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa, celebrating 251 years of Marine Corps tradition. This year’s beneficiary is Our Next Mission, which provides safe, accessible housing for disabled and at-risk veterans.
A community event — everyone welcome. The evening features the official Marine Corps Birthday Ceremony, reception and dinner, live and silent auctions, raffle baskets, and live entertainment by the Jesse Daniels Band, with Melinda Drake singing the National Anthem. Tickets are $350 per person; black tie / dress blues encouraged. Sponsorships are also available.
Tickets & sponsorships: vvaservices.org/events
NIS on Substack
Neighbors in Service publishes on Substack twice a month — community updates on the first, and in-depth articles mid-month — on topics that matter to our veterans, military families, first responders, and community supporters.
This past month’s article, A Flag in Summer, a Wreath in Winter, told the story behind our Honor pillar: why we raise flags in the warm months and lay wreaths in the cold ones, and how a tradition started by neighbors became a regional mission. If you missed it, it’s a fitting read for the Fourth.
New on Substack — Our Honor Pillar Partners. Right on our home page, you’ll now find our Honor Pillar Partners: vetted, direct pathways to support Wreaths Across America (Mansion Memorial Park and Old Memphis Cemetery) and Folds of Honor. Every link and QR code routes straight to each organization’s own secure donation page — Neighbors in Service never collects or holds funds, so 100% of your gift reaches the cause.
Follow us on Substack so you do not miss a post.
Neighbors in Service is a 501(c)(3) Florida Nonprofit (EIN: 33-1691201) — Educate · Strengthen · Honor 🌐 www.neighborsinservice.org | 📧 info@neighborsinservice.org | 📱 Team Reach Code: AZNIS4VETS | 👍 facebook.com/neighborsinservice