Two women in our area have proved that persistence and initiative can produce results. Those results will be out there at noon on Saturday for the third annual Wreaths Across America at Woodland Cemetery.

There whether it is raining, snowing or sunny, dozens of volunteers will put out live evergreen wreaths on each grave of the Soldiers Section at Woodland.

The event is the brainchild of Juanita Southers and Linda Dalton, who in a single-handed grassroots effort brought the national event to Ironton.

Each December on the second Saturday across the United States, volunteers decorate soldiers’ graves with live wreaths that stay there until mid January.

Southers got the idea when she was visiting her daughter in Washington, D.C. and participated in the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

The solemnity and the sense of wanting to honor those who protect our freedom was an overwhelming experience for the Ironton resident. So much so, she and Dalton have worked tirelessly to get sponsors for the wreaths, from sending out letters to riding in the Memorial Day Parade to draw attention to their effort. Eleventh hour snags may have frustrated them, but they have never given up until every wreath was placed.

Certainly, Wreaths Across America is a ceremony that will inspire as veterans from the various armed forces will speak about what it means to serve this country.

But just as importantly, the event shows what diligence and belief in a cause and in oneself can produce. And isn’t that what this country is all about?