PODS® supports Navy veteran on artistic journey through “Honoring the Troops” project

April 17, 2013 - PRLog -- (TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) – When Navy veteran Michael Jernigan traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010, he knew he wanted to honor the men and women for the sacrifices they made for their country - one bronze statue at a time.

While Jernigan, 66, was overseas, he chronicled the lives of 21 U.S. military personnel in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy and Marines through his "Honoring the Troops" Project. He needs 27 facial measurements and 100 photographs of each subject to create a sculpture, which takes over 120 hours to complete.

Jernigan served in Japan during the Vietnam War and wants to uniquely contribute to honoring today’s servicemen and women. To help support his cause, PODS® donated a container to store Jernigan’s statues in for the next year.

“God has given me a talent that I want to share to honor the troops,” Jernigan said. “The donated PODS® container has been very convenient and I am thankful for PODS’ support for this project.”

Jernigan is traveling the U.S. to raise funds and finish his one-of-a-kind works of art. His goal is to raise $700,000 and he’s already raised more than $200,000. In 2015, the sculptures will be displayed at the Florida State Capitol and at arts centers, gardens, colleges and museums across the country.

“It’s great to see one of our country’s veterans honor our troops by giving back and crafting these dedicated sculptures,” said John B. Koch, President & CEO, PODS Enterprises, Inc. “We are proud to be supplying our moving and storage services for Michael as he goes on this remarkable journey to raise awareness of the sacrifice our service men and women go through overseas.”

After the two-year nationwide exhibits, the individual service members will receive their bronze portrait sculptures as a gift from a grateful nation through the donations received from the public.  

Donations can be made in honor or memory of someone you know and any amount would be appreciated. To make a tax-deductible donation to “Honoring the Troops,” visit www.honoringthetroops.com or send a check to: Capital City Kiwanis Club Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 4144, Tallahassee, Fla. 32315.

To view an itinerary of Jernigan’s stops, visit: http://httms.com/itinerary.

About PODS Enterprises, Inc.

Founded in 1998, PODS currently provides moving and storage services to a population of more than 250 million consumers and businesses, in 48 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the UK, through its company-owned and independent franchise network. To date, the PODS network has completed more than 400,000 long-distance relocations, exceeded 2.0 million deliveries and has over 145,000 PODS® containers in service.