Farmers Branch Canyon Cemetery seeks Wreaths Across America participation; Friends group discusses fundraising and tombstone program

Members of the Farmers Branch Historical Preservation & Restoration Board discussed cemetery-programming and fundraising steps at their meeting.

Speaker 4 said she submitted an application to Wreaths Across America to have Farmers Branch Canyon Cemetery join the national wreath-laying day (coordinated with Arlington) and described the program’s logistics: a Friends 501(c)(3) would process orders on a website, donors can request placement at a specific gravesite, and the program often matches donor orders (Speaker 4 said, “if someone orders 2 … the Wreaths Across America will donate the 3rd wreath”). Speaker 4 said the cemetery’s roster includes about 115 veterans, which is the scale the program would serve if accepted.

The board discussed volunteer support for wreath placement, including working with local youth units for flag and wreath placement; Speaker 4 said she will contact the Boy Scouts/ROTC who place flags on Veterans Day and ask about assisting with wreath placement.

Friends-group fundraising and operations were a second focus. Board members reported money raised from chair rentals and donation boxes; one speaker said a Friends balance of roughly $1,007,610 was reported during the meeting. The board discussed payment options for events and donations: a larger cash-only sign caused missed transactions, and members recommended QR-code payments (PayPal or Venmo) or a Square reader. “If you had a QR code, I would scan your QR code and give you [a donation],” Unidentified Speaker 1 said.

Speakers also described a possible partnership on tombstone care. Speaker 3 recounted talking with Jeff Campbell, director at Plano’s Interurban Museum and a Plano Conservancy volunteer, who runs a tombstone-cleaning program called “tombstone missions” and offered to share techniques and training; the board said it may pursue a volunteer cleaning day for the cemetery in future.

No formal vote or policy adoption on the wreath application or fundraising methods was recorded in the transcript; Speaker 4 said the application was acknowledged and a district leader would follow up to confirm acceptance into the wreath program. Board members also noted that donations and brick-sales for the event center must be processed through the Friends 501(c)(3) for recordkeeping and tax purposes.