Veteran Services News

Veterans Awards Banquet

Written by Jim Lynch, Veteran Services Director &
Lauren Martin, CSS Intern

A highly anticipated event by the Veterans Service Division, the 3rd Annual Veterans Awards Banquet, held on Saturday evening, January 26, 2008, attracted over 275 citizens, and a wide array of Alachua County community veterans. There were veterans dating back to World War II all the way to those coming back from active duty recently. Even the press turned out to feature this big event as the event MC was David Snyder from TV 20-WCJB. During the event, Jim Lynch set up a type of trivia for guests and for veterans�a slideshow highlighting pictures of veterans taken while they were on active duty. These pictures were from several decades and featured all of the veterans during a time of service. The audience then tried to guess who was in which picture which turned into quite an entertaining show!

Beyond the memories and pictures, twenty-five veterans and supporters were recognized for their service above and beyond the call of duty. Each of these people received a certificate and a big round of applause. At the conclusion of the evening, the prestigious award of Veteran of the Year for 2007 went to Mr. Jim Yakubsin. He was selected for his work in founding the local Marine Corps League as well as the Military Support Group of Alachua County. This support group was responsible for sending well over 2,000 boxes of "goodies" to our troops currently serving overseas. In addition, the Veterans Service division also gave a Veteran Supporter of the Year to Ms. Amanda Decker, a local reporter for TV 20. Decker was selected for her hard work in promoting veteran events and ceremonies such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and Bikers on Parade for the USA. She also arranged a week long portion on the news to feature local veterans each day leading up to Veterans Day. Overall the event was a huge success and a great way to honor our veterans.

Future events for Veteran Services Office are:  Memorial Day Ceremony, May 26, 2008; Flag Day Ceremony, June 14, 2008; and July 4th Celebration.