Bemus Point Mayor Jeffrey Molnar presents Bemus Point Golf Club and Tap House owners Bryce and Rachel Steffen with a congratulatory proclamation. P-J file photo

PANAMA — Memorial Day is fast approaching, and the village of Panama is working on finalizing their plans for the village’s big event.

At the board’s May meeting, Mayor William Schneider said he found someone to do both Flanders Fields and the Gettysburg Address, but had not heard back for someone to play “Taps” yet. The board also discussed needing to confirm someone to sing God Bless America. With the deadline to get things set being on the day of the meeting, everything else is set for the day, including bracelets the village board will be throwing during the parade.

The school band leader has been approached for band music, and it was suggested that maybe they would have someone who could play taps. Others have been asked, but Schneider said he was not sure as he had not heard back. The speaker for the day has also been set, with Kay Gould scheduled to speak.

“I think she’s going to talk for at least some of it on people who are in the Olympics, because she’s been chosen as one of the oldest Olympic people right now, in the Senior Olympics,” board trustee Todd Eddy said. “Her dad was an Olympic person of the year the year the war broke out and he didn’t get to go.”

Schneider added to that, saying the speech will be focused on those who never got to compete in the Olympics.

The board also discussed other supplies they needed to confirm, including a podium, and supplies they already had such as chairs and tents. The board went through the list with everything they had set, and what few things that were still needed to confirm. A few other events besides the parade will be going on as well.

“I did confirm the Memorial Day car show is going on, and that’s annual,” Village Clerk Lisa Ireland said. “The church bake sale at Panama Methodist Church; the Panama Fire Department is doing the barbeque.”

Ireland added they had the annual Panama sale days were also on the list from last year, but they had not talked about it and the board discussed when that should be. For now, Schneider said they can put down on the Memorial Day bulletin that Panama sale days are coming in July, and hold them sometime in July when it would not compete with other local events.

For Memorial Day, Schneider said the last two things the board needs to confirm before the day is someone to sing the National Anthem and America the Beautiful.