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Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Blake Roach, of Ellijay’s Civil Air Patrol 507th squadron, stands as part of a color guard while the Gilmer High School Chorus performs at last year’s community Veterans Day program.
**Due to rain, Gilmer County's community Veterans Day program will be held at the Gilmer High School Gym today. There will be no parade. The program will start at 11 a.m. Those participating in the event should be in place by 10:30 a.m. The program, which will feature speakers and music, is open to the public. A lunch for all veterans and their family members will follow at the Ellijay Lions Club.
Gilmer County’s Veterans Day parade and honorary program will return to the downtown Ellijay square Friday, Nov. 11.
The past two years, a Veterans Day program and lunch have been held at the Ellijay Lions Club, while there hasn’t been a parade since 2019.
“Everything is back in place this year,” said Ellijay Lions Club member Sam Burrell, organizer of the community Veterans Day program.
The Veterans Day schedule will start with a complimentary breakfast for all veterans at First United Methodist Church, 75 McCutchen Street, from 8:30-10 a.m.
Lineup for the parade will start next to the church at 10 a.m. The parade will start promptly at 10:30 a.m., heading from McCutchen Street up North Main Street.
“The school will have the fifth graders (attending),” said Burrell. “Years ago, we felt that was the grade (level) where they could understand it and have a sense of what Veterans Day is about when it was done.”
A program of speakers and music on the town square will follow the parade. The roundabout will be blocked off from early that morning until the event has finished.
The program’s theme is Freedom Matters, said Burrell. Mark Millican, former Times-Courier news editor and current columnist, will be the event’s guest speaker.
Millican, who served in the U.S. Marines Corps and Army National Guard, is the author of “Some Gave All,” in which he profiles 23 men from Gilmer, Whitfield and Murray counties who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
“I’m thankful for this opportunity,” Millican said. “There are many veterans in Gilmer County who’ve sacrificed much more than me in their military service. I’m honored and also humbled to represent them.”
Patriotic music will be performed by the Gilmer High School Band, choruses from Gilmer High and Clear Creek Middle School and singers from Ellijay First Baptist Church, Burrell said. The program will probably last until around 11:45 a.m., he noted.
The program on the square will be followed by a complimentary barbecue luncheon for all veterans and their families at the Lions Club, 1729 South Main Street.
Burrell said those involved with putting on the Veterans Day events are looking forward to the upcoming return to form.
“We didn’t miss one. We continued it through the pandemic, but we are excited about (returning downtown),” he added.
The Gilmer County Rotary Club will also host an event for veterans that’s been on hold the past few years.
The Rotarians will present their Veteran’s Appreciation Dinner Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Ellijay First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 164 Dalton Street.
The dinner will be open to all veterans and a spouse or guest. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner at 6 p.m.
Millican will also be a guest speaker at this event. There is no charge for the dinner, and reservations are not required.