W. Tenn. veterans to tap creativity for home

Auction seeks to raise $8M still needed

As an army sergeant major, David Spencer learned to “lead from the front.”

Now retired, Spencer wants to be first again, this time in a project allowing him to create art drawn from his war experiences.

Guided by artist and gallery owner Ephraim Urevbu, Spencer, 55, other veterans and their loved ones will produce art displayed and sold at auction on Veterans Day to raise money for the West Tennessee Veterans Home.

Spencer is on the board of the West Tennessee Veterans Home organizing group and, as the executive officer of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, led a fundraiser last year.

In this project, he will be one of many.

Urevbu is helping 40 or 50 veterans or military families create works of art for the Nov. 11 event at his 410 S. Main St. gallery.

One challenge, he said, is to find the veterans.

“A lot veterans are very private. They don’t want to talk about their story,” Urevbu said. “So the challenge is to unlock all that. Finding those veterans that will be eager and willing partners.”

Fundraising for the home for veterans living in Shelby, Tipton and Fayette counties began in 2006. It is, for now, expected to be built in Arlington.

The federal government requires local groups to raise about a third of the money, meaning the group here must raise $25.2 million, said Don Swogger, marketing chairman with the West Tennessee Veterans Home organization.

They’ve raised $17 million and need about $8 million more, Swogger said. The total cost is about $72 million.

The art project is “fantastic,” Swogger said, and will help them tap into a new pool of potential donors.