VALLEY CENTER, Calif. (KGTV) — After a decades-old Veterans Day ceremony at Valley Center Cemetery was abruptly canceled, a local nonprofit is stepping in to make sure the veterans buried there are still honored.
Jenelle Brinneman, a Valley Center resident and founder of Roses for Veterans, said she learned just days before Veterans Day that the cemetery's traditional ceremony had been called off.
The cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400 veterans.
Brinneman said members of the community reacted with "shock and sadness" when they heard about the cancellation.
"We don't cancel Christmas, so why are we canceling something for our veterans?" Brinneman said.
The cancellation comes amid a dispute involving the cemetery's volunteer board and San Diego County.
The board said it recently received a cease-and-desist order from county attorneys regarding its members' duties as cemetery trustees. Board members dispute the county's action, saying they filed paperwork to be appointed as board members dating back several years and have been waiting for the county to take the next steps.
Amid the dispute, the board canceled the Veterans Day ceremony.
A county spokesperson offered a different account, telling ABC 10News that the alleged board members never went through the proper process to be appointed as trustees. The spokesperson also said the county's letter did not require the Veterans Day ceremony to be canceled.
Brinneman's work honoring veterans dates back several years.
ABC 10News first met Brinneman, a florist who has veterans in her own family, around Memorial Day 2020. At the time, a nonprofit had stopped placing roses at national cemeteries because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brinneman launched a fundraiser to continue the tradition. After an ABC 10News report highlighted the effort, the fundraiser brought in about $5,000, enough to place thousands of roses at Fort Rosecrans and Miramar national cemeteries.
"It's so cool to be part of this. The feeling is overwhelming," Brinneman said at the time.
She later founded Roses for Veterans, which helps place roses at cemeteries for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Now, following the cancellation in Valley Center, Brinneman is organizing a special Veterans Day gathering at the cemetery.
"We invite the entire community to do an opening prayer with us, and then help us place roses," she said.
Brinneman said the gathering will begin at 8 a.m. A guitarist is expected to play patriotic songs as community members place roses in honor of veterans.
"Our goal is just to make sure all the veterans are never forgotten," Brinneman said.
This story was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed and edited by ABC 10News journalists.
