By MATT LAMB
Insider Staff Writer
In the spirit of the season, Ainsley Tryhane, a Union Pines High School student and Key Club treasurer, orchestrated a confluence of philanthropy that spread across the community.
The school’s Key Club, a junior branch attached to the Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club, has worked diligently to grow on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with a full slate of officers, the organization initiated an effort to spread awareness about different groups throughout Moore County.
Naturally, Tryhane turned to a community she knew — the military — where her father served 21 years in the Army before retiring.
“I wanted to do something to show the veterans community,” she said, “so we have someone from the Joint Special Operations Association (JSOA) coming to talk about what they do for the community.”
But Tryhane didn’t stop with a mere information session; she had a surreptitious plan to raise money for the JSOA. With the help of club advisers Donna Shea and Morgan Brewster, the team reached out to The Heritage Flag Co. in Southern Pines.
Enter Heath Trigg, who, along with his employees, handcrafts American flags from whiskey barrels and wine casks. The club approached Trigg about purchasing a flag for a raffle, but he had other ideas.
Trigg built the Heritage Flag Co. on giving. His first flag was a gift to the three Southern Pines Brewing Co. owners after building a bar for their flagship brewery. Word quickly got around that Trigg was crafting one-of-a-kind mementos, and in 2014, his business officially went live selling Heritage flags.
When the Key Club said it wanted to purchase a flag, Trigg did not hesitate; he went to work. In four days’ time, he built and donated a flag worth $650.
Meanwhile, club members headed out to sell raffle tickets. Hitting polling places during the election, family members and friends, they sold 602 tickets.
With a flag for a lucky ticket holder and $2,750 raised, Tryhane contacted Josh Burton, the president of the JSOA, to hold a talk for students about their operation.
The JSOA is a tax-exempt charitable organization with a tripartite mission: honor fallen warriors, provide scholarships and grants to families of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and support JSOC family events.
Burton took to the Union Pines cafeteria to highlight his military career and his work at JSOA. From the regular Army to the premier special mission unit at Fort Liberty and eventually a job at JSOC, Burton has served his country since 2001.
“JSOC’s been very closed off for a long time, but since 2016, we have been trying to be a little bit more forward-facing and get into the community,” he said. “That’s why stuff like this is very important for everybody that’s out there. Volunteering, getting to know your community, who you’re actually out there fighting for.”
Burton told the students how important serving the community is.
“If I had to have a message for this crowd — the age group that I’m talking to and everything — I wish somebody would have come and talked to me at my high school about volunteering. It might not be something that’s on your mind right now, but volunteering is something that’s important.
“It’s definitely important for the community, but it’s important for you as well. You might not see the value in it, but if you take yourself and find something that you’re passionate about, that you’re interested in, and then you volunteer for that, there’s so much that you’re learning.”
Following Burton’s presentation, Trigg was invited to pick a winning ticket. From an old hand-cranked raffle drum, he chose three: one for the main prize and two for smaller Heritage flags.
“Thanks for all the help raising the flag and the money,” Tryhane told the crowd. “We have raised $2,750, and 100 percent of the profits are going to the Joint Special Operations Association.”
“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Burton as he was presented a check. “Now we’ve got to write a scholarship for Union Pines.”
Contact Matt Lamb at (910) 693-2479 or mlamb@thepilot.com.
