By Tim Gardner
In an effort to honor veterans of the Unites States Armed Forces and celebrate their service to our great nation, the Avery County Rotary Club is hosting its fifth annual Veteran’s Day celebration on 2019 Veterans Day–Monday, November 11th.
This county-wide event will include a luncheon and special program for the veterans. This celebration will be held at the Best Western Mountain Lodge in Banner Elk, beginning at 11:30 a.m. and lasting until 1:00 p.m.
All Avery Countians are invited to attend. Veterans and their family members receive a complimentary, free lunch. The meal also will be available to other guests for $8 per person.
The event’s featured speaker is Dr. Gerhard Weinberg, a German-born American diplomatic and military historian noted for his studies in the history of World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been a member of the history faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill since 1974. Previously he served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of Kentucky. Weinberg was born in Hanover, Germany, and resided there the first ten years of his life. As Jews living in Nazi Germany, he and his family suffered increasing persecution. They emigrated in 1938, first to the United Kingdom and then in 1941 to New York State. Weinberg became a U.S. citizen, served in the U.S. Army during its Occupation of Japan in 1946-1947, and returned to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies from the State University of New York at Albany. He earned a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1949 and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1951 in history from the University of Chicago. Dr. Weinberg currently resides in North Carolina with his wife.
Music for the event will be provided by Jessie Smith, a local icon and talent and special presentations will be made by local and governmental dignitaries.
Medi-Home Hospice, Best Western Mountain Lodge and Gadabouts Catering are sponsors of this year’s Veterans Celebration.
For more information contact the Veterans Day Celebration or to RSVP, contact Jillian Rosato of Avery County Rotary Club by email at jillian@averycohfh.org or by phone (828) 733-1909.
Avery County Rotary has long been one of the more active community service organizations in any county in the State of North Carolina. Avery County Rotary provides an excellent opportunity for members to get together socially once a week for fellowship and to organize, and then conduct, community service activities.
In observance of Veterans Day, all Avery County Government offices will be closed on Monday, November 12 as will all Federal and State of North Carolina government offices. There also will be no U.S. Mail Deliveries on Monday.
Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11 that honors military veterans; that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I; major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, a U.S. public holiday in May; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who died while in military service. It is also not to be confused with Armed Forces Day, a minor U.S. remembrance that also occurs in May, which specifically honors those currently serving in the United States Military.