Wood & Huston Bank Honors Missouri Veterans

Employees of Wood & Huston Bank of Marshall, MO present a check to Charlie Guthrie, Saline Co. coordinator for Show-Me Honor Flight Network.

Few can argue the importance of supporting our military on active duty in Afghanistan and abroad, as well as their families that are here at home. However, in addition to remembering those men and women serving our country on active duty, the management and employees of Wood & Huston Bank have gone the extra mile to remember our veterans that have nobly served our country in past wars and military conflicts.

On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, the employees of Wood & Huston Bank's Marshall, MO branch offices came together to present a check for $750 to Charlie Guthrie, the Saline Co. coordinator of the Show-Me Honor Flight Network. The donation came about as a result of a request made by Mr. Guthrie for Wood & Huston Bank and its employees to provide the financial support necessary for a face-lift of the Show-Me Honor Flight Sidewalk Brick program. Each of the sidewalk bricks surrounding the county courthouse bears the names of the Saline County veterans that served in WWII. The sponsorship of the sidewalk brick program helps to defray the cost of flights to take local WWII veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the WWII and other memorials.

Honor Flight Network was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force Captain. Mr. Morse wanted to honor the veterans of World War II by providing travel assistance, at no cost to the veteran, to visit the World War II memorial in our nation's capital. Through the end of 2012, the Honor Flight Network had transported more than 98,500 veterans to Washington, D.C., to see their memorial. The program presently has 127 hubs in 41 states. Due to the senior age of our heroes, and the prediction that we are losing approximately 800 of them daily, the program's leadership and volunteer supporters are committed to do all within their power to make the dream of our WWII veterans a reality.

"It is with great pride and honor that the management and employees of Wood & Huston Bank makes this contribution to the Honor Flight Network," says John Huston, Chairman of Wood & Huston Bank. "These men and women put their lives on the line and sacrificed much in fighting for our country in World War II. It is the least that we can do to honor them by playing a small part in making it possible for them to visit their memorial in Washington D.C."

For information on the Show-Me Honor Flight Program and how to contribute to the cause to honor our local veterans, please contact Board members Charlie Guthrie at (660) 529-2420 or (660) 631-9355 or Levi Dennis at (660) 631-0002. For even more information about the program nationwide, visit the program's website at http://www.honorflight.org/programs.

About Wood & Huston Bank

Established in 1874, Wood & Huston is an independent, full-service community bank that in 2014 celebrates 140 years of providing a wide range of quality financial products and solutions to the communities that they serve in Missouri--with branches and/or service locations in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Marshall, Slater, Springfield and West Plains, and recently opened a loan-processing office in Higginsville, MO. Wood & Huston provides the convenience of online banking, mobile banking, mobile deposit and high-interest checking, along with competitive-rate loans for its customers. It's Wood & Huston's history and mission that distinguishes it from so many banking institutions. Personal service has been a legacy passed on from generation to generation for Wood & Huston Bank. The Bank operates with a philosophy that its reputation must be recreated every single day to meet each new challenge. To learn more about Wood & Huston, explore its website at http://www.woodhuston.com, drop by one of the convenient locations, or call (660) 886-6825.