First Baptist Church, 2350 Central Ave., will host a fundraising event for the Garland County Veterans Memorial and Military Park at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Vandals struck the site several times in the past few months, and the Garland County Veterans Memorial Committee has plans to install new lights and cameras to help deter vandalism.
"The Hot Springs Police Department has jumped on it, and they have been patrolling the area," Tom Wilkins, chair of the committee, said. "We still haven't caught the people that are stealing flags and stuff they shouldn't be doing; disrespectful stuff. But we're taking measures to do a fundraiser, so we can go ahead and put better lighting down there at night and just make it so it's not going to be an easy task for somebody just to steal something without getting caught."
Wilkins said the committee has some funding, but it is "not perpetual care money."
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"It's more for things that might be needed along the way, which trust me, every month there's something," he said. "Whether it's new grass or whether it's shrubberies or whether it's light poles -- there's all kinds of needs down there."
The fundraiser has two purposes: to help raise money for the facility and to help educate people about the military and patriotism, Wilkins said.
"We want to educate families," he said. "We want mom and dad sitting there with the young boys or young girls that could someday go into the military in later life and at least have a foundation of what patriotism is about. It's not that it's lacking in schools, but we want more emphasis to be put on it, and the schools seem to be jumping on board heavily."
Larry Brown, father of U.S. Navy SEAL Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010, and Brown's widow, Kelley Brown, will be among the speakers at the event, Wilkins said.
Gene Ho, the editor and owner of George magazine, will be the keynote speaker.
"(Ho) found out that George magazine, that was started by John F. Kennedy Jr. ... it kind of went defunct for a little while," Wilkins said. "Gene found out it was for sale, and he bought it and he's the editor of it and runs the show up there in New York. So he's brought that back, and he's such an interesting guy that we thought I would try and get him here."
President Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Howard Lee Kilby, will be reciting the Gettysburg Address during the fundraiser among many other guest speakers, Wilkins said.
"We are going to pay tribute to not only Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, which is getting into my era when I grew up, and then Bobby Kennedy also," he said. "It's a song called 'Abraham, Martin and John,' which was a big deal song by Dion back in the day. Then we kind of get into the meat of everything. There'll be some more songs."
Wilkins said Garland County elected officials will have a chance to speak at the event as well.
"Of course, you can't do something patriotic without politicians, so every politician from Garland County has been invited, and they're going to be given a minute or so," he said. "This is going to be quick, quick, quick stuff. Nobody's going to be lingering up there giving long speeches."
This is not a political event, Wilkins said.
"It's a nonpartisan kind of thing, but it's still open to anybody," he said. "Republicans, Democrats, Independents, we don't care who you are. If you love our country, we want you to attend. That place seats 1,200 people. Last time we did it, we had about 800 people there for the Fallen Hero deal."
Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. and Wilkins expects the fundraiser to last approximately two hours with a short intermission.
"I think people are going to be astounded how good a production it is just coming from some local yokels in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which I'm one of," he said. "I think they're going to be proud."
Anyone who wants to donate but is unable to attend can email Wilkins at [email protected] or call 501-622-9570.