Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Concordia residents might witness hundreds, or possibly thousands, of visitors throughout the city this weekend, as the American Veterans Traveling Tribute (AVTT) will visit the city for four days beginning this Thursday.
In early May 2010, Rita Goodwin, the senior coordinator of the Christian Patriots Remembrance Team, helped bring the American Veterans Traveling Tribute to Concordia, and this week, she’s done it again.
The AVTT began as an 80% replica of Washington, D.C.’s, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but grew to include other tributes that memorialize fallen soldiers from World War I, World War II, the victims of 9/11 and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Goodwin wasn’t content there, and began raising funds to add another memorial to the traveling tribute. She said she spoke with the AVTT owner, Don Allen, about this addition.
“I said, ‘If I decide to do the veterans wall, I want to add first responders and some type of tribute to canines,’ and they said that would be great,” Goodwin said. “I thought about it and I told her, ‘That’s the only way I’m going to do it, is if I can do all of it together.’”
The canine memorial will not be ready by the time the rest of the memorial reaches Concordia, but Goodwin said it will travel permanently with the rest of the memorial walls.
For this year, Concordia plans to celebrate the AVTT for four days, beginning on Thursday, June 5.
On Thursday, Goodwin said dozens of motorcycle riders from across Kansas plan to join the parade to bring the AVTT to Concordia, where the riders will leave Salina, the AVTT’s plane landing location, at 8 a.m. and bring the traveling tribute wall to Concordia.
Once workers prepare the exhibit, it will open at 3 p.m. with a prayer and a speech from Concordia City Mayor Amy Jackson.
At 4:30 p.m., a speaker will recite a poem titled, “What is a Veteran,” which kicks off a few more evening activities like a National Anthem performance at 5 p.m. and the event’s first guest speaker, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner at 6 p.m.
Friday, June 6, will begin festivities with a “Reveille” performance alongside the posting of colors, raising the American flag and opening the exhibit. Each day following Friday will begin with this ceremony.
The entire event will feature a shuttle bus provided by OCCK Transportation, escorts for those that need assistance or have difficulty when walking and multiple food trucks.
Throughout the day on Friday, the Christian Patriots Remembrance Team have planned multiple events, ranging from a canine demonstration to various speakers. In the evening on Friday at 9:30 p.m., organizers will read the names of the members included on the tribute walls.
Saturday continues many of the activities that Friday held, with speakers and a few presentations. Sunday will host many of the auction activities and raffle drawings, with a paddle auction preceding a live auction, all the while a silent auction will continue from its open on Friday.
For further schedule information, visit the Christian Patriots Remembrance Team event website, https://freedomtribute.org/.
Throughout late last year and early this year, Goodwin has gathered funds and auctioning items from various local donors, and plans to use that cash to donate to first responders in the region.
“We’re trying to raise money for first responders because they need equipment—bunker gear, ventilators, hoses, cots—whatever it might be, but they don’t have the budget for it,” Goodwin said. “I’m helping them so they can have one less fundraiser, but yet it’ll be something that will really help them buy equipment because a set of bunker gear averages about $15,000 or more.”
Goodwin said that local donors have raised nearly $100,000 in cash, while more have donated nearly $100,000 in auction items, which the organization plans to sell on Sunday.
“The normal you and I person, sometimes we don’t give it a second thought,” Goodwin said. “There just seems to be more to it than people realize, so I started asking questions and that made me decide that we need to honor first responders as well.”
Any person interested in donating to the fund can find further information on the event website, freedomtribute.org, or by calling Goodwin at 785-527-3348.
