StoryPoint Chesterton honored their veterans today with a pinning ceremony. Dozens of veterans, family members, and spectators gathered to honor these brave men and women. The ceremony began with the pledge of allegiance, followed by a surprise bagpipes performance, opening remarks, the pinning, and finally, a toast to all of the veterans.
Nicolette Huber, Laurus Home Care Director, explained the significance of pinning a medal to a veteran.
“When you’re in the military and you receive a medal, it’s an honor to have someone pin you. We wanted to let the veterans know that they are special,” said Huber.
Huber is a veteran who served in the Air Force, and she was the MC of the ceremony. She kicked things off with an emotional speech describing what a veteran means to her.
“To me, a veteran represents courage, sacrifice, devotion, and strength. Veterans encourage and inspire me to do better,” said Huber.
After the opening remarks, each veteran was honored individually. Each received a certificate of honor, a pin, and a quilt. A quilt may seem like an odd thing to give out, but these quilts were from Quilts of Valor. This organization knits handmade quilts to give to veterans. The original idea came from a mother who wanted to wrap her son returning from service in a quilt because it would be like a big, warm hug.
Janet Levihn, an Indiana Quilts of Valor volunteer, helped create the quilts for the ceremony. She explained what volunteering for this organization means to her.
“Each of the veterans' stories is so special. The response we get is always great. It’s always a special time,” said Levihn.
Being a veteran herself, Huber received her quilt at the ceremony.
“It was a humbling experience,'' Huber explained. “When you’re younger you don't view it as important, but people do acknowledge you for the service that you provided, and it’s really special.”
After each veteran was wrapped in their quilt, a toast was made. Everyone held a glass up to honor all current and former veterans, both living and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“I think it is important to remember veterans both here with us and those who are not with us,” Huber said. “We should always show them the respect they deserve.”
At the end of the ceremony, Huber expressed her wish to take a large group of the veterans at StoryPoint on an Honor Flight. This is just another way StoryPoint is committed to honoring its veterans.
“We want to have our whole group go,” Huber explained. “Honor Flight Chicago is where they thank the veterans for their service. They meet at Midway early in the morning, go to DC, and go to the memorials. I’ve done two of them myself as a medical guardian because I'm a nurse.”
To learn more about StoryPoint, visit https://www.storypoint.com/.
To learn more about Quilts of Valor, visit https://www.qovf.org/.