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Local Couple Goes The Distance To
Say Thank You
Glen and Debbie Tilley planned
their recently completed cross-country motorcycle
trip of almost 7,000 miles so they could take in as
much of the beauty of America as possible. They
planned their trip around a special destination with
a special goal – to say Thank You to an artist in
Manti, Utah – Kaziah Hancock and to present her with
Certificates of Appreciation from the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Bryan Tutten Memorial Post 2391 and
from American Legion, Alton Green Memorial Post 194.
Kaziah is an artist and who
devotes most of her time to honoring American
soldiers who have died in Middle East combat zones.
"I came across a talk show, and they were talking
about the accomplishments and the life of James W.
Kelly, of Salt Lake (City, Utah). It hit me. … I
became a basket case," she explained. "He was a
serviceman who had been killed in Iraq." It was at
that moment, Hancock decided she wanted to paint a
memorial portrait of each U.S. service member killed
in the line of duty. Kaziah said she considers these
paintings as hugs. When she dies, there will be
pieces of her heart spread out all across the globe.
"That says Kaziah cared about these soldiers," she
said. She does this as a way to say Thank you for
those American servicemen and women who have given
the ultimate sacrifice. Kaziah paints, for the
immediate family, an original oil on canvas portrait
free of charge, of their fallen loved one. In this
small way she can say thank you for giving your all
in the cause of freedom. She started doing
this in 2003 and is the Founder, President and
Artist of Project Compassion. Since its
conception, Kaziah has been joined by four
additional artists and one office staff person and
has provided over 1,400 oil paintings for grieving
families. She has been honored by the State of
Utah, the VFW, American Legion, DAV, DAR and
many other organizations for her generosity.
Project Compassion is totally
non-profit and survives solely on donations in order
to continue the project on the huge scale it has
become. Some links are provided below for
information regarding Project Compassion and the
Hero Paintings Gallery. Information is
provided on the website for donations should you
desire to help this project.
Home page:
http://www.heropaintings.com/kzindex.aspx
About the project:
http://www.heropaintings.com/aboutPC.html
Paintings:
http://www.heropaintings.com/ShowGallery.aspx?Gallery=1
How to donate:
http://www.heropaintings.com/contact.html#donations
About the artist:
http://www.kaziahthegoatwoman.com/kaziah.html
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