Helping to make a community beautiful one tree at a time Posted On: Tuesday, Oct. 27 2009 03:14 PM Special to the Hood Herald

There comes a time when people the nation over lend a helping hand to communities, associations, and individuals in need.

For 20 members of the 1st Medical Brigade Rear Detachment, their helping hands were put to good use to "Keep Temple Beautiful," with shovels, gloves, and mulch Saturday, also known as Make a Difference Day.

Created by USA Weekend Magazine, Make a Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. In 2008, more than 3 million people volunteered their services to accomplish thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

Although the 1st Medical Brigade came a few million short on volunteers, those 20 individuals came through, along with Temple

H-E-B store managers, and several members of the "Keep Temple Beautiful" committee, to beatify a portion of South Fifth Street near the Temple Aquatic Center with the planting and mulching of 45 trees donated by Temple H-E-B.

During the event, Temple Mayor Bill Jones issued a proclamation stating Saturday as Make a Difference Day where he thanked the Silver Knights volunteers and the many residents of Temple which give back through hard work to the city to keep it strong and beautiful.

Afterwards, the silver knight rear detachment command team, Lt. Col. Cephus Roupe and Sgt. Maj. Trevor Flemming. presented a Silver Knights' Scroll of Appreciation on behalf of the brigade's soldiers and families to strengthen the family bond the unit and the City of Temple have established and will continue long into the future.

"This is a wonderful event for the brigade to participate in," said Lt. Col. Cephus Roupe, the rear detachment commander for the 1st Medical Brigade. "There is more to life than PT (physical training), formation, and work. It is a great opportunity to get our soldiers out into the community and volunteer. It not only helps the soldiers feel good about themselves, but helps the military strengthen its bond with the local community.

"The city of Temple has given so much support to several 13th Sustainment Command programs that we wanted to help give back to Temple and this has been a great way to do it," Roupe said.

Beautifying a median with the planting and mulching 45 trees not only changes the scenery of the road, but helps give back to a community that has helped support the military community since its inception.

"This is the way to go to support the community," said Flemming, the rear detachment senior noncommissioned officer. "This is a partnership that we hold in high regard and any and every opportunity we have to give back, we take full advantage of."