The Jones County Veterans Committee met for its final time before the Jones County Veterans Appreciation Day event to make sure all plans were in place for the upcoming celebration.
Jones County’s Veterans Appreciation Day is scheduled Nov. 9 at the W.E.
Knox Civic Center.
Committee Chairman Richard Combs called the Oct. 24 meeting to order with an opening prayer.
Combs started by going over the plans for the first event for Nov. 9, the Col. Allen Carr 5K Race.
The day begins with registration for the race at 8:30 a.m. The race begins at 9 a.m.
Committee member Joy Carr said Buddy Davis will again handle the duties of the timer for the race.
Carr said the Jones County High School JROTC led by Capt. Michael McMillian will take care of the water stations for the race.
Committee Secretary Bonnie Duke said they have 30 sponsors for the race. She said Jim Hodges helps sell the sponsorships that includes the name of the sponsors on runners’ shirts.
“We lost a couple of sponsors but picked up a couple of new ones,” Duke said.
She said the cost of being a sponsor is $50, but many of the businesses add donations to that. The secretary said the money is not only used to purchase the shirts but also to keep up the Veterans Memorial Monument at the Jones County Courthouse.
Duke thanked committee member Anita Dockery for her ideas and contributions since joining the committee. Dockery creates the program, postcard invitation for veterans and runs the sound system for the program.
Duke said she also organized the names of the veterans with pavers at the memorial.
Combs asked about the flag that hangs from Gray Fire Department ladder trucks. Committee member Frank Duke said Mayor Ed Barbee, who is also a member of the committee, had taken care of the arrangements with the GFD.
The chairman said the veterans would line up under the flag at 10:45 a.m. in preparation of the Veterans March into the auditorium for the program.
Bonnie Duke said registration for the veterans would begin inside the W.E. Knox Center at the conclusion of the awards for the 5K race. She said veterans service hats would be distributed to veterans in the small conference room as well as the patriotic carvings.
“We have plenty of hats,” she said.
Duke said they received some hats with new designs for several of the armed services and a new Vietnam Veteran cap.
Combs said this year’s program will begin with an Armed Forces Medley to recognize each branch of service. The posting of the colors will be handled by the JCHS JROTC.
JCHS students Carly Mercer and Hollie Walton will sing the national anthem and “America the Beautiful.”
Barbee will present the joint City of Gray and Jones County proclamation recognizing the event, and the keynote speaker will be JCHS JROTC Battalion Commander Cadet Lt. Col. Rhett Perry.
The chairman said the program includes information about the Middle Georgia Honor Flight that transports veterans from the Vietnam War and prior service to tour the veterans monuments at Washington D.C.
The program concludes with the drawing for the winner of the American Legion annual rifle raffle.
Following the retrieval of the colors, “Taps” will be played by Robbie Thomas.
After the discussion of the program was completed, Combs posed a question to committee members.
The Jones County Veterans Appreciation Day has taken place every year since the first one in 2001. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the event continued, but the program was moved outside. The 2023 program was the first to be moved back inside the auditorium.
The chairman’s question was if it was time to begin the interviews of individual veterans again. Those interviews were a highlight of the program for years and have been digitally archived.
“Are we ready to start them again next year?” he asked.
Combs question was not answered but it will be a discussion for the 2025 event.
