OWENSVILLE — The Bledsoe-Bulas (VFW) Post No. 6133 in Owensville has chosen Spring Bluff R-15 Superintendent Tina Wnuk as the guest speaker for the 2026 Memorial Day Service.

Wnuk’s message will focus on how people can be more involved with community service through volunteering, coaching and education.

“My message is going to be centered around service,” said Wnuk. “My family has a history of military service and (has) helped shape me to who I am today.”

Wnuk, whose mother, Donna Lewis, is a member of the Owensville VFW, began teaching at Owensville High School (OHS) in 2003. In 2019, she became the principal of New Haven’s middle and high schools.

The speech she will give at the service will also focus on the heaviness of Memorial Day.

Post 6133 Commander Mike Stillman shared how the VFW selects speakers for Memorial Day.

“We pick someone from the community every year that comes to speak,” said Stillman.

Speakers usually talk for about five to eight minutes, delivering messages for the service.

The VFW has previously invited speakers such as Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy and OHS Principal Kurt Keller.

“We usually pick outstanding people in the community, and they give a speech,” said Stillman. “They have never let us down.”

At the service, names of  VFW members who died since last Memorial Day are read, and that is followed by a three-round volley by the rifle squad.

After names are read, Taps will be played by Garrett Baxter, and possibly Brock Schneider, who both play the bugle. Stillman is unsure if Schneider will be in town for the service.

Baxter’s parents, Ryan and Shyla Baxter, are members of the auxiliary.

There will be a reading from the auxiliary officers, including President Tina Medlock, Senior Vice President Lorie McFalls and Junior Vice President Robbie Curtis.

The service will conclude with a three-round volley fired by the VFW’s 1947 Pack Howitzer.

Prayers will be led by Ron Koppelmann, Jr., pastor at the Boeuff Presbyterian Church in Gerald.

The national anthem will be performed by Bess Misener and “God Bless America” will be performed by Lacie Clark.

“I would hope the meaning they (people) take away (is) the meaning of Memorial Day and what it is to those that have served,” said Stillman. “It’s not just a beer-drinking weekend holiday on the river.”

The Memorial Day service starts at 10 a.m. on May 25 at the VFW in Owensville.