Quilts of Valor presentation hosted by Elevate Branson

Elevate Branson recently hosted a Quilts of Valor presentation honoring several area veterans. The presentation was conducted by Quilts of Valor of the Ozarks, with Sonya Moore serving as emcee and many family members and friends of the honorees on hand for the occasion. 

A Quilt of Valor is a quality, handmade quilt awarded to a service member or veteran as an expression of gratitude for their service to our nation. The Quilts of Valor Foundation literally began with a dream, while founder Catherine Roberts’ son was deployed in Iraq. In her dream, Roberts saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in obvious despair, followed by a scene of the same young man wrapped in a quilt, with a look of hope. That dream led to the first quilts and eventually the national Foundation. Each quilt is accompanied by a registration certificate and a label with the name of the person(s) who made it. Recipients are encouraged to not just display the quilts but to actually use them, as a tangible reminder of appreciation. 

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Recipients at Friday’s ceremony included the following veterans and service members: 

Harold Archdale, Army, Vietnam;   

Zachary Burch, Air Force, various security deployments; 

Andrew Gillen, Navy; 

Keaton Holland, National Guard, various deployments including Afghanistan; 

James Hotz, Army, Vietnam; 

Joshua McConkey, currently active as a recruiter with the National Guard after various deployments; 

Paul McKee, Vietnam era serving as MP; 

Steven Rosenblad, Navy, 1976-86 and 2001-12 following 9/11 events; 

Troy Shrable, Air Force, 1989-1993; 

Margie Jo Williamson, Army and Navy including Iraqi deployments

Each honoree shared briefly about his or her experiences, including both some amusing moments and some sobering ones. Keaton’s comment about Afghanistan, “It’s sad how things ended there,” and James’ comment regarding Vietnam, “Some things you just don’t mention,” were just a couple of reminders of how important it is to show our active and veteran service members that the American people really do care. 

As stated on the Q of V website, each of today’s military service members has stepped up to help ensure our freedoms are protected; they give up their personal time, time with loved ones, and innumerable other sacrifices, and deserve our gratitude. To learn more about the nomination process for a quilt, visit https://www.qovf.org or follow the Quilts of Valor of the Ozarks page on Facebook.