I come from a family with quite the military history; both of my grandfathers were in the service, one of my grandmothers was a drill instructor in the Marines, my father was a Marine, and my little brother is a future Marine. I grew up very appreciative of everything our service men and women have done for me and this weekend I was lucky enough to have a few chances to say thank you!
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| A family favorite! |
On Saturday, several of "Gwen's People" and I were invited to celebrate Flag Day at the Yountville Veteran's home. First of all let me tell you this place is huge. I have a knack for getting lost and this giant campus offered a lot of opportunity for that!!!!! Many of the vets were joking with me that they are spoiled now, because they live in such a beautiful place, and get to be around each other all the time. We got to go around doing a meet and greet, and then introduced ourselves on stage during the ceremony. Afterwards, we walked around getting to know people and giving out our pictures, it was a big hit! On all of my pictures I wrote, "Thank you for my freedom" not thinking anything of it because it is how I feel. I handed one of the older veterans his, when he read it he instantly started crying "happy tears" as he called them. It was by far one of the most moving moments I have been blessed to experience in my year as a title holder. I am so glad I was able to be a part of this event!
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| I loved getting to introduce myself and talk about how "Marine Corps Radio" was my lullaby! |
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| He loved taking pictures with us and even caught our photographers on camera! |
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| Our jokester! I used some of his material with the lovely Miss Honey the next day! |
The next morning, I got to meet even more veterans and spend time with the Kelseyville Lions Club during the Vet Connect fundraiser. That morning I learned so much! There are about 9,000 known veterans residing in Lake County; that's more than 13% of our population! Vet Connect is an organization that puts veterans in contact with resources that they otherwise may not know are available to them. This includes help with education, job placement, health resources, housing, food stamps, disability assistance and so much more! I was lucky enough to meet one of the founding members, Tom Benton, who is such a great resource and role model for everyone! He told me that Vet Connect was started by a group of homeless and previously homeless veterans who got together and spun a sad situation into an amazing organization! I really admire people who find solutions and use their trials to help others. Thank you so much Vet Connect for bringing your wonderful assistance program to Lake County!
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Such a sweet heart, I was so glad I was able to write all of his grandchildren notes on my autograph cards!
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| Had fun time getting to know all of these vets, such a great group! |
Our Miss Lake County princess party was a blast! We played games, ate yummy treats, read stories, performed our talents dances and much more!
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| Our super sweet princesses! |
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| Shakin it! |
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| I read about my favorite princess Belle in "Beauty and the Beast," she's my favorite because she reads! |
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| All hail princess Honey! |
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| Girls just wanna have fun! |
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