The Jones County Veterans Committee has been working on plans for this year’s Veterans Appreciation Day to continue a tradition that started in 2001 of thanking veterans for their service.
This year’s event will take place Nov. 9, beginning with the Col. Allen Carr Memorial Day 5K that starts at 9 a.m. Registration for the race begins at 8:30 a.m. The entry fee for early registration (before Oct. 25) is $25 and $30 the day of the race.
Race results are posted online at macontracks.com, and awards are given to the overall male and female winners and the top three males and females in standard age groups.
Buddy Davis is once again handling the finish line management.
Race registration forms are available in the lobby of the W.E. Knox Civic Center, Jones County Library and The Jones County News office.
Veterans Committee members began meeting in June in preparation for the November event led by Chairman Ret. Col. Richard Combs. The theme of the event continues to be “Honoring All Who Served.”
After he called the Sept. 18 meeting to order, Combs commented that a lot of progress had been made.
Committee Member Anita Dockery talked about working on the list of veterans who have attended the Appreciation Day event, with the goal of being sure every one of them receives an invitation.
The invitation is in the form of a post card and provides information with the date, time and overview of the events of the day. All veterans are invited and will be honored during the program.
Changes were made to the format of the program during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the program has been moved back inside the W.E. Knox Civic Center auditorium.
Veterans registration officially begins at 10:30 a.m. in the entry hall of the W.E. Knox Center. The popular military service baseball- type hats will be available in the small conference room down the hall, where they were located last year. Veterans Committee Secretary Bonnie Duke said they currently have 358 hats in stock and more have been ordered to ensure there are plenty for every veteran to receive a hat.
Patriotic plaques hand made by committee member Roger Hawke, who is also a veteran, will be distributed in the small conference room.
The Veterans Walk lineup will take place under the huge American Flag that will be hanging from fire department ladder trucks near the Jones County Cruisers Classic Car Cruise-in.
The Jones County Pilot Club, Gray Garden Club and Oliver Morton DAR will have booths set up in the halls of the civic center.
Other than the Cruisers, the only organization planning to set up outside is the American Legion Post 142 to distribute its pre-sold barbecue chicken dinners and selling tickets for the legion’s rifle raffle, if there are any tickets remaining.
The Veterans Appreciation program will begin at 11 a.m. inside the W.E. Knox Center auditorium. This year’s program will include the Posting of Colors by the Jones County High School JROTC and the Star-Spangled Banner performed by JROTC cadets Carly Mercer and Hollie Walton.
JCHS JROTC Battalion Commander Cadet Lt. Col. Rhett Perry is this year’s keynote speaker.
Representatives of the Middle Georgia Honor Flight will attend the event, and information about the organization will be presented as part of the program.
The Honor Flight’s mission is to enable veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War eras and any terminally ill veteran to visit the memorials of armed conflict in Washington D.C. at no cost to the veterans. Information about the organization can be found online at middlegahonorflight. org. The program concludes with the drawing of the winners of the American Legion raffle and closing remarks by Combs.
Following the Retrieval of the Colors, Taps will be played by Robbie Thomas.
The Veterans Committee will meet Oct. 24 for its final planning session prior to the Nov. 9 event.
