BLUFFDALE, Utah, Sept. 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over 30 employees from Low VA Rates participated in a service project on September 10, 2016 to beautify the Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park located in Bluffdale, UT, only about 15 miles north of the mortgage company's corporate office. The cemetery is actually the only one of its kind dedicated to veterans in the state. With over 15 burials each week and limited personnel available for maintenance, the cemetery's upkeep often gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.
Employees at Low VA Rates saw this problem and decided to lend their strength and time in support of the cemetery and its groundskeeper. The mission of "Operation Weed Eater" was to beautify the two main flowerbeds near the entrance of the cemetery in addition to the largest wood-chip planter in the special forces walkway near the main flagpole. In total, the employees put in about 80 service hours from 9am to noon, splitting up the assignments by teams to tackle each of the three target areas.
While the employees worked, a funeral was being held, and the cemetery grew hushed when the employees and those attending the funeral removed their hats and listened respectfully to Taps as it played.
Eric Kandell, president of Low VA Rates, related his personal experience of the moment: "When Taps started to play, my 9-year-old son seemed a bit confused as to what to do. He was working hard for a 9-year-old on a Saturday morning who would much rather have been playing with friends. I looked down at his messy hair and his recently removed baseball cap in hand with his hand on his heart and I was just really touched that even he slowed down for a moment to respect the fallen hero who was being laid to rest."
The mood of that moment and of the event as a whole held nothing but respect as each person worked hard to make the cemetery look stately enough to be the final resting place for the heroes of our country. But this wasn't the company's first visit to the cemetery for a service project. After the effectiveness of its first beautifying project in the cemetery, the company decided to return to finish the job. The cemetery indeed looks more beautiful and clean than it ever did before.
The goal of the project was to express the company's commitment to and love for the veteran community through meaningful and needed volunteer work. The company is grateful to all veterans for their patriotic service, particularly at this time of remembrance and mourning so close to the anniversary of 9/11. Low VA Rates will continue to search for and accomplish service opportunities locally and around the U.S..
About Low VA Rates:
Low VA Rates is a VA mortgage loan company located in Lindon, Utah. Most of the company's organization has been around since 2006, but it became an independent company late in 2013. It has four additional branches across the U.S. and services most of the 50 states. It is one of the nation's leading lenders and deals solely in VA loans, offering both purchase and refinance loans.