Commissioners proclaim PFC Zachary Gullett Day

Highland County Commissioners Shane Wilkin, Tom Horst and Jeremy Shaffer signed a proclamation for the family of PFC Zachary Gullett at their May 14 board meeting.

Representing the family were Gullett's father, Mike Gullett, his grandmother Eleanor Helterbrand and friend and fellow veteran Roger Hall II.

Mike Gullett said the Zachary Gullett Memorial Scholarship Fund has been increased from $500 to $1,000. The scholarship is available for any Hillsboro High School graduate who is going into law enforcement or criminal justice.

"I miss Zachary so much," Eleanor Helterbran told commissioners. "He was not only my grandson, but my best friend."

"Zach was the kind of man that you were proud and to know, call your friend, and consider a brother," said his friend, Roger Hall II.

"Zach was the truest and most loyal friend I have ever had or will have during some if the hardest times in my life. He was a good man, a great soldier and a better friend. He was someone who always helped you to see the positives in life, and the type of man you could count on to be there when no one else was – someone who showed that friendship and loyalty is unconditional, even in the hardest of times. I have been blessed enough to know Zach and experience his positive impacts first-hand. I have never been more deeply honored to call anyone friend or consider anyone my brother in my life. I can only pray that no one ever forgets the sacrifices of the Gullett family and their loss of such a true American hero."

A benefit spaghetti dinner for the PFC Zachary R. Gullett Memorial Scholarship Trust will be held Saturday, May 17 from 4-7 p.m. at VFW Post 9094, 1000 W. Main St., Hillsboro. Meals are $8 and include spaghetti, salad, roll, dessert and drink.

The 20-year-old Hillsboro High School graduate was serving in Iraq with the 984th MP Company when he died May 1, 2007. Weeks after his death, his friends in the community reached out to the Gullett family to work on the creation of a scholarship, to honor Zachary’s memory and to assist in the future endeavors of Hillsboro High School students.

The scholarship is given to a senior at Hillsboro High School who is pursuing higher education in law enforcement, have met GPA requirements, with first consideration given to a student who has participated in the high school band.

Applications are being accepted now for the 2014 Gullett Memorial Scholarship. Hillsboro students should meet with their guidance counselor if they qualify for this scholarship.

Commissioners proclaimed the third Saturday in May as Private Zachary R. Gullett day in Highland County.