Editor’s Note: For more photos of activities during Vacation Bible School, visit our official Flickr album at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortknoxky/albums/72177720327792783.
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FORT KNOX, Ky. — Religious Support Office personnel and several volunteers pointed more than 100 Fort Knox children “True North” July 21-25 at the installation's 2025 Vacation Bible School.
This year’s program, focused on encouraging children to pursue a deeper faith and exciting life, ushered in some changes although the general format remained the same.
“The RSO was great!” said Amy Messick, coordinator for the 2025 program. “If I wanted to change something that was done in the past, I had to give a good reason, but I was able to not have to stick with what’s always been.”
Working closely with Dr. William Townsend, director of Religious Education at the RSO and lead for the VBS program, Messick said child pickup and drop-off issues ranked high on her list of changes.
“The parking situation was really difficult over here: figuring out where the volunteers park, and how the parents get their children across the road and through the parking lot safely,” she said.
Her plan was to have parents either drop their children off in front of Pritchard Chapel or park beside it and walk their children to the entrance of VBS past safety cones and road monitors.
“Last year, when I first came here and just dropped my kids off, I was waiting in a long line to drop them off,” said Messick. “That was something my husband and I saw and thought, ‘There’s got to be a better way.’ That was my big goal: to make it not annoying for the parents to drop their kids off.”
Another change from previous years was removing one section of the VBS packet so teachers could have an additional 10 minutes to finish lessons: “In the past, it was very rushed for some of our station leaders,” said Messick.
Design of the stage and many of the stations came about because of assistance from the Fort Knox Red Cross’s Warrior Warehouse, she said.
“Anytime they were open during volunteer hours I could go there and be like, ‘Hey, I’m with VBS and I’m looking for purple paint,” said Messick. “We’re working with very limited funds.”
Overall, the program proved very rewarding for all involved, said Messick, especially the children.
“Anyone can make a plan but plans only work if the people helping out are able to execute them. Every one of the volunteers have done that,” she said. “This has been a really good experience from beginning to end.”
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