This weekend’s second Tribute to the Troops at the Mayflower Arts Center in downtown Troy will benefit the growing Miami Valley Veterans Museum located nearby.

“It is feel-good, nostalgic, educational. It’s a fund raiser for a very good cause,” said Krissy McKim-Barker, volunteer coordinator at Hospice of Miami County and master of ceremonies for the evening.

The program will feature the musical group, The Avalons as well as the Patriot PinUp Girls from Dayton and Troy resident Betty Tasker, who will perform patriotic vocal numbers. There also will be tap dancing and footage of entertainment to the troops over the years.

“As MC I am privileged and proud to be a part of this as I am grateful for the sacrifices that veterans of all eras have made,” said McKim-Barker, who works with the Hospice veteran volunteers.

The program is family friendly, she said, adding discussions from the evening could lead to a future visit to the Miami Valley Veterans Museum located in the Masonic Building on West Main Street.

The veterans’ museum has grown considerably since its early days in 2010 in a room at the former Stouder Memorial Hospital where a handful of display cases showed its collections.

The museum moved to the Masonic Building in 2011.

This year, the museum added a new room that takes a visitor through a chronological journey of history starting with the War of 1812. The room was named the Schlatter Gallery in memory of museum volunteer Herb Schlatter

In the gallery, the story is told through displays that help explain the everyday life of solider of each era.

“We are not a collection of hardware,” said Terry Purke, museum curator. “This is a commemoration for veterans. It is how those veterans served that we want to commemorate. The museum is themed that way.”

Visitors will see donated items from uniforms to medals to photographs and eating utensils. An artifact from the World Trade Center also is on display.

Some items have Miami Valley ties while others are general collectibles, Purke said. The museum's coverage area spans from Columbus to the Indiana border and from Lima south to Cincinnati.

The museum also has a collection of interviews conducted with area veterans and a series of scrapbooks that can be explored for research or general knowledge.

 "It's all history. We would like people to never forget what's happened in the past," said Mitch Fogle, the museum’s executive director.

The museum always could use more volunteers, Fogle said.

Anyone with an item or items to donate is asked to stop by the museum during open hours. Tours can be arranged for other times. For more information on hours and other offerings, visit www.miamivalleyveteransmuseum.comor call 937-332-8852.