1 big countywide event coming for Veterans Day

  • The Veterans Day parade that winded through downtown Murphy in November featured floats for local veterans service organizations, like the AMVETS.
    The Veterans Day parade that winded through downtown Murphy in November featured floats for local veterans service organizations, like the AMVETS.

        Peachtree – Two Veterans Day events will become one this year.
        Cherokee County veterans services supervisor John Giddens announced at the Veterans Forces meeting on Jan. 8 that after talking to event organizers in both Andrews and Murphy, they’ve agreed it would be best to combine their efforts. The new Valley River Veterans Stand Down & Resource Fair is planned for Saturday, Oct. 31, in Andrews.
        “I think it’s going to turn out awesome,” Giddens said to those gathered at the Veterans Building.
        He added that last year’s event organized by Hayesville American Legion Post 532 and Ivie Funeral Home at Western Carolina Regional Airport “took off,” and that the Murphy parade organized by Brenda McPherson Mahoney was beautiful.
        “It seemed like the thing to do was to combine,” he said.
        The day will include a parade, similar to the one held in Murphy last year, that will march through Andrews and across U.S. 19 to the airport. Mayor James Reid has volunteered to be the parade coordinator.
        The airport will have much to see and do, including entertainment, aircraft and vendors, similar last year’s event there. He said there was even space for some of what was at the fair at Konehete Park last year.
        “We will enhance that parade, and hopefully, you’ll do the same for us,” said John Bandy, representing both the Hayesville Post and funeral home.
        Giddens also said the Smoky Mountain Veteran Stand Down in Franklin offers valuable services to struggling veterans, and he wanted to offer those services here in conjunction with the event. He added that Ruth Limon, the other veterans services officer, got the contact information for each vendor to invite them to the new event. He hoped each of the veterans service organizations would help by collecting items that could be distributed to those veterans.
        Veterans Forces members approved using funds donated by the Cherokee Scout to support the new event. The newspaper donated $500 from the proceeds of the Celebrating Our Veterans magazine published in November.
        The next Veterans Forces meeting will be 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Andrews.