The Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery has been awarded the Operational Excellence Award by the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The prestigious award is the highest honor given to a state veterans’ cemetery following a compliance review based on the National Cemetery Administrations standards.

“What’s really impressive is that the Jennings cemetery is so new, that this is their first inspection and out of the gate they are recognized,” Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Charlton Meginley said.

The award was presented by state veterans officials Wednesday during a brief ceremony at the cemetery attended by area veterans and family members of veterans interned in the cemetery.

“This is a significant recognition and honor, not just for the state, but for the City of Jennings and the parish who have provided so much support and have embraced both the cemetery and the veterans home,” Meginley said.

The inspections are conducted every three years as part of a compliance review program of all the VA grant funded veterans cemeteries, according to Veterans Cemetery Grants Program Deputy Director James Earp.

“This inspection is equal to the level of inspection and detail that’s performed in national veterans cemeteries,” Earp said.

“These inspections are to ensure that they continue to comply with the strict standards that are expected to be upheld in the presentation of our veterans cemeteries,” he said.

The cemetery scored 99 percent out of 100 percent and received 297 points out of a possible 300 points, Director Dwyane Guidry said. The only thing missed on the inspection was his fault, Guidry said.

The inspection includes 94 standards in categories including customer service, ground maintenance, internment operations, record keeping, equipment maintenance and headstone or marker placement.

Guidry said the recognition is a testament to the commitment of the staff to ensure that the veterans and their family members have a dignified and honorable final resting place.

Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Cemetery Program Director Ted Krumm said the state strives at all its cemeteries to meet the very high standards that make the cemetery a place of honor, that a veteran or his family would be proud to call their final resting place.

“The fact is, it takes a lot of work with a very small staff doing much of the heavy lifting,” Krumm said, commending the local staff in helping the cemetery to achieve the Operational Excellence Award. “Because of their tireless work and attention to detail, they not only passed their NCA compliance review, but also achieved such an outstanding score that they are being recognized today.”

Krumm urged the staff  and groundskeepers to “keep up the great work.”