Starting at noon on Saturday, Dec. 9, the city of Crestview plans to begin blocking off all of Main Street and a portion of North Wilson Street for the city .
Also participating in the program will be Marine Corps veteran David Goetsch, emeritus vice-president and professor at Northwest Florida State College; the Rev. Cecil Williams, pastor of Gregg Chapel AME Church; Florida Veterans Hall of Fame member David Rose; state Rep. Patt Maney, a retired Army Reserve brigadier general and retired local judge; Air Force Brig. Gen Scott Cain, commander of Eglin Air Force Base and its host unit, the 96th Test Wing; and Air Force Col. Jocelyn Schermerhorn, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing, the host unit at Hurlburt Field.
Guests will be invited to place small bouquets in the community wreath during the reading of the names of veterans who have passed since last Memorial Day.
Community Integration (CI) is America’s Warrior Partnership’s evidence-based, proven model that provides communities with the tools that improve outreach and understanding of veterans in order to implement a customized local program responsive to veterans, families and caregivers.
A critical aspect of CI is the unique approach to connect with, educate and advocate for veterans in the community as they receive services from local veteran-serving organizations. The CI model is active in six affiliate communities across the country, serving over 54,000 veterans. We are proud to have the Panhandle Warrior Partnership on our nationwide team of communities to lead the community in connecting with veterans locally, said Jim Lorraine, president and CEO of America s Warrior Partnership. We’ve learned over the last 10 years of serving veterans in the community that 90% of the issues can be solved locally. This is especially true in the Panhandle, where the community embra