- February 24, 2025
‘Ormond Strong will complete its mission.’
Wayne Grant
News Editor
The City Commission presented a check for $1,000 in an emotionally-charged ceremony on Aug. 5 to Ormond Strong to help them complete their latest mission.
The check went toward their care package project for local National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan last spring. The next night, volunteers packed about 20 13-by-13-by-18-inch boxes full of a wide range of personal care items and snacks at a “packing party” at Halifax Health Hospice on Booth Road. Diane Adams, volunteer coordinator at the hospice, said they encourage public use of their facilities and one fourth of the patients are veterans.
Ormond Strong is a group of friends and family of the deployed soldiers who provide support and walk a vigil each morning.
Commissioner Rick Boehm suggested the donation at a previous meeting. He said later that he asked for the money because “it directly benefits Ormond Beach residents who are sacrificing for our country.”
Emotions rose at the check presentation. Mayor Ed Kelley fought back tears at times as he called the Ormond Strong project “exciting and inspiring.” As a slide show showed scenes of Ormond Strong members on their memorial walks across the Granada Bridge, the crowd in the meeting room rose and sang along with a recording of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” The group said they will continue the walk until the soldiers return.
Debbie Kruck, leader of Ormond Strong, told the crowd that as they walk over the bridge, and the flag is waving, it’s not the breeze that moves the flag. She said it’s from the breath of all the soldiers who have died defending their country.
“Ormond Strong will complete its mission,” she said.
