This past weekend was a busy one for the members of the Veterans Council of Northwest Arkansas Board of Directors, the men and women who have the responsibility of maintaining the Veterans Wall of Honor.
It began Saturday with a "God Bless America" event at Riordan Hall, designed to honor the memory of that fateful day, Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, known as "a day which will live in infamy."
As president of the Veterans Council, I wish to thank all of those involved, beginning with council member Leonard Eisert, who single-handedly organized the entire event, and those who, despite the threat of winter weather, came out in support.
The afternoon's entertainment was provided by the Ecumenical Christian Orchestra, under the direction of Lois Carlson; the saxophone and piano duet of Dick and Virginia Dale; and the members of Hoot'n and Holler Cloggers.
A big shout out goes out to the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, and in particular to Riordan Hall manager Cathy Wilmoth for making us all feel at home.
These types of events are so important as the years go by so that we never, ever forget what happened on that Sunday, 77 years ago.
Then on Sunday, the Council held a silent auction and dinner to raise money for our operating budget.
I first want to thank the nearly 50 people who attended. Because of them, we were able to raise several hundred dollars.
And, I especially want to thank the members of our board, and several "friends of the wall" who spent the entire day at the American Legion making sure everything possible was done to make the event a success. These types of activities require a lot of work, and those folks really stepped up.
We have other events being discussed and planned for the future and ask that everybody stay tuned. There will be more on this in the weeks and months to come.
In the meantime, please visit the Wall of Honor to see what we have been up to in recent months. We are converting the land east of the Wall into a veterans' park, including a walking path and six meditation benches. Additional landscaping also has been added to the area.
Douglas Grant
President, Veterans Council of NWA
Editorial on 12/19/2018