COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wreaths Across America (WAA) is proud to announce that as part of its yearlong mission to Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom, its Mobile Education Exhibit (MEE) is returning with a tour across the United States to share this mission with local communities.
The MEE was on hiatus for the start of the year while it received necessary upgrades and repairs. The restored unit has plans to be in the following states for the remainder of 2026:
- August: Pennsylvania
- September: Massachusetts
- October: Georgia
- November: Florida
- December: Escort to Arlington
In addition to the exhibit’s enhancements, WAA is pleased to introduce our new MEE Driver Ambassadors, Patrice Cook and Debbie Kellogg. Patrice proudly served in the United States Army for 24 years, working as both an 88M Motor Transport Operator and 74D Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Specialist. After retiring from the military, she has devoted herself to a distinguished career in trucking and was honored as the first female truck driver to be awarded a Schneider Ride of Pride truck in 2022. Debbie began her trucking career in 1984 and has since surpassed the milestone of one million miles driven. She has been a valued member of the WAA team since 2018, when she hauled her first load of wreaths and began serving as a Location Coordinator. Today, she strives to live the organization’s mission of Remember, Honor, and Teach through her work with the MEE.
This 48’ traveling exhibit features a 24-person theater, interactive computers, and information about WAA’s yearlong endeavor to teach future generations about the sacrifice our brave servicemembers have made. Month by month, for 2026 and beyond, WAA’s local sponsorship groups across the nation will host each event stop of the MEE tour. Free and open to the public, these events embrace fundraising, holding ceremonial wreath placements, and creating a community of support, patriotism, and love of country, while also providing a space for service members to tell their stories.
“The Mobile Education Exhibit provides the unique opportunity for communities to come together and share the stories of those who served and sacrificed,” said Renee Worcester, Director of Development and the MEE. “The Exhibit also serves as an official ‘Welcome Home’ location for our nation’s Vietnam veterans. Since hitting the road in 2019, our ambassadors have welcomed home more than 6,000 Vietnam veterans.”
When the MEE pulls into the area, all veterans, active-duty military, their families, and the local community members are invited and encouraged to visit, take a tour, and speak with volunteers, and our new MEE Ambassadors, Cook and Kellogg. As highly accomplished members of the WAA team, they can also share more about the national nonprofit’s yearlong mission and the work its volunteers do to support our heroes and their communities across the country. Members of the media, dignitaries, veterans, and other interested groups are urged to come, ask questions, share stories, and experience this one-of-a-kind exhibit.
You can support the Mobile Education Exhibit and other yearlong WAA programs and initiatives with a $17 sponsorship. Each sponsorship reinforces the many ways in which WAA honors the legacy of our servicemembers. Additionally, this sponsorship places a live, balsam wreath on the headstone of an American Hero, as we endeavor to honor all veterans laid to rest on Saturday, December 19, 2026, as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.
For more information, and to request the Mobile Education Exhibit make a stop at your local community in 2027, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/About/MobileEducationExhibit.
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About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which was begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s yearlong mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
For more information about sponsorships, programs and initiatives, and Wreaths Across America, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Interviews are available upon request. Please visit WAA’s Media Resources Page to download background, photos, logos, or other items to help you file your story.
- Mobile Education Exhibit
- WAA Driver Ambassadors