Burlington Veterans Memorial Tournament

Burlington Veterans Memorial Tournament The Burlington Veterans Memorial Tournament is Burlington, Ohio's way of celebrating the lives of ou

The Burlington Veterans Memorial Tournament is Burlington, Ohio's way of celebrating the lives of our fallen veterans. It is the only BASKETBALL & CO****LE TOURNAMENT in the US to be endorsed by 3 recipients of the CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR.

Burlington Veterans MemorialDid you know the Burlington Veterans Memorial Committee received the endorsement of 3 Medal ...
05/11/2026

Burlington Veterans Memorial

Did you know the Burlington Veterans Memorial Committee received the endorsement of 3 Medal of Honor recipients?

The committee was assembled with the purpose of erecting a veterans memorial in the Commons. The Burlington Veterans Committee was part of the Concerned Citizens.

In 2009, the memorial was unveiled by the children of Tuc Church, with the assistance of Tuc's widow, Mindi.

Also in attendance were members of the families of the other veterans from Burlington who were killed in action. Former Burlington kid and SPHS Principal John Maynard was also in attendance. John was named after Gregory J Maynard whose name appears on the KIA Memorial.

An event was held in the Commons where Medal of Honor recipients Ron Rosser and Woody Williams spoke. Ernie West was unable to attend due to a family emergency.

Burlington Veterans Memorial Committee members were:
Chris Saunders (chairman)
Bernard Conwell
Ed Moellendick
Don Saunders
Ed Pennington
Dave Milem
Raymond Ramsey

Before we can make it officially official we gotta make sure we can cover everything. If you would be interested in bein...
05/07/2026

Before we can make it officially official we gotta make sure we can cover everything. If you would be interested in being a ref for a couple outdoor street ball games on June 27th send Brandi Thacker or Quander Wilson a message. Might be some ribs in it for you 🤷🏻‍♀️

05/04/2026

Received this in my personal inbox earlier. It is from the days when I started and ran the tournament.
Thought I'd share.

I also have every confidence in future organizers that they will do far better than I did.

Chris,
Proud cabbage patch 35 year old kid here, Believe it or not I remember seeing you at the park way way way back in the early 2000s/10s and I always wondered who you were. I remember the park before the black top and the back boards. As a middle/high school student during that time I know it helped so many Burlington kids out because I lived it everyday.

It really kept a lot of us out of trouble.

I could list you 10 different ways you would never think it could have a snowball effect but I was there

It helped level the playing field with the south point kids

The neighborhood was rough back then. Opioids just crashed the scene and the park gave us a place to go and something to do. It helped shape a lot of great athletes of my time. Just having the opportunity to.

A lot of those kids didn’t get as lucky as I did. That park helped me stay in athletics through school

Helped me graduate.You know, indirectly.

A lot of us either didn’t have dads.Or both parents.

And the court helped supervise even when there weren’t any adults lol

For years and years the all star teams were almost exclusively south point kids

Politicking back and fourth
Who’s name. Blah blah

I drive by every once in a while just to see. Same with the cabbage patch. Hurts my heart seeing the woods cleared.

Such great memories growing up down there. Such great people.

So thanks for that

😲😲WOW!!! JUST WOW!!! 😲😲 Until now, I had no idea the personal impact the tournament and the Commons had on the kids in Burlington.

I wish Bernard Conwell was still alive to read this. He was the driving force, as was Ed Moellendick, Ed Pennington and many others. THEY did the heavy lifting in the Commons. THEY are the ones to thank.

I just organized and ran the basketball tournament.

THIS IS NOT FOR SURE but we would like to gage interest in having a youth tournament at the same time as the regular tou...
05/01/2026

THIS IS NOT FOR SURE but we would like to gage interest in having a youth tournament at the same time as the regular tournament. The youth would play on the smaller court and the age limit would probably be up to 12. This idea is just in infancy right now and won’t move further without serious interest. It would either be June 13 or June 27. Please comment if you are interested and share away!

05/01/2026

🏀 IT LOOKS LIKE BURLINGTON HAS A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT AGAIN. 😁

This is Chris Saunders, who started the Burlington Veterans Memoral Tournament and ran it for years.

I handpicked Quander Wilson to take it over, and he ran the tournament for years.

Quander & I have both spoken with Brandi Thacker and have given her our blessing to resurrect the tournament and run it.

Lace 'em up. There are games to be played. 🏀

05/01/2026

Pick up your registration form at Glockner Ford.

VETERANS ÒF THE TRISTATE
10/02/2023

VETERANS ÒF THE TRISTATE

BURLINGTON NEWSI recently learned some disturbing news concerning the old Burlington jail. As many of you know, at one t...
06/14/2023

BURLINGTON NEWS
I recently learned some disturbing news concerning the old Burlington jail.

As many of you know, at one time the jail was supposed to become a local Underground Railroad museum. The grounds surrounding the jail was cleared of trees and the building itself was cleaned up from a previous fire. The building had a new metal roof put on it and windows were installed. A new subfloor was also added.

A ton of effort and many fundraisers were held to raise funds. A host of Burlington residents, all of whom I have the utmost respect for, were involved in the effort. Among those involved were Sue Howard, Ed and Margaret Pennington, Don Saunders, Ed Moellendick, James Caldwell, Bernard Conwell, Ron Dial, Dave Milem, Raymond and Harriet Ramsey and many others; some of whom are no longer with us. (forgive me for anyone I unintentionally omitted).

Over time, the project began to slow down. The group that had worked so tirelessly had $9,300 remaining in an account.

Somehow, unbeknownst to me currently, the $9300 these people raised for the improvement of Burlington was given to an organization in Ironton. I am unsure of which organization, but I sure plan to find out.

Burlington is where Lawrence County began. It may be an after thought to some people but it definitely is not an after thought to me and the other people who live and grew up here.

Burlington has the largest economic growth of anyplace in Lawrence County. Sam's Club, WalMart, Lowes and South Point Ford and many other businesses chose Burlington for a reason. Aldi, Chic Fil A, Starbucks and a new hotel are coming to Burlington for a reason too.

I submit, Burlington is not only the past, but is the future of Lawrence County too.

I have every intention of finding out where our Burlington Jail money went and doing what I can to get it back. While it isn't a lot of money, Burlington residents raised it for the improvement of Burlington, not anywhere else.

Feel free to share this information and pass it along to others who may be interested.

Address

Burlington, OH
45680

Telephone

(304) 412-4852

Website

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