Connecting Cobb Veterans will be holding its Q2 Meeting at VFW Post 2681 at 140 Powers Ferry Rd SE, Marietta, GA 30067.
Doors open at 8:30 AM on June 12th for sign-in, breakfast pastries and coffee as well as an opportunity to network with other advocates/supporters of the Veteran community. Our meeting starts at 9 AM and ends promptly at 11.
This quarter’s topic is the services that the Georgia Department of Veterans Services (GDVS) provides to Veterans. Our guest speaker will be Kareem Reddick, a GDVS certified Veteran Service Officer (VSO) who will share what GDVS can do for Georgia Veterans. He is also quite knowledgeable about VA benefits. I can promise that you will come away from this meeting with information you did not have before the meeting.
There will also be an opportunity for all attendees to give a 30-45 second introduction of themselves, want they do and if you have an upcoming event you would like to share. Also, feel free to bring a one-page literature sheet
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting America’s first responders, Gold Star families and military veterans, is bringing its commitment to eradicating veteran homelessness to the Atlanta area. The organization held a groundbreaking ceremony for its new “Atlanta Veterans Village” on May 17, 2024 in Mableton. When completed in 2025, the location at 65 S. Service Road will provide permanent and transitional housing to nearly 100 veterans in Atlanta and surrounding areas.
At the groundbreaking, Tunnel to Towers (T2T) announced details of its plans to turn the former Wingate by Wyndam hotel into a Veterans Village.
Long-term living spaces will include apartments with a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom
The renovated facility will also have a gym, business center, great room, cafeteria and commercial kitchen
Male and female veterans will be able to live in the facility
The facility in Mableton is part of a nationwide Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Homeless Veteran Program. In 2023, the Foundation provided housing assistance and services to more than 3,000 veterans. It also provides mortgage assistance to catastrophically injured Veterans, Gold Star families and Fallen First Responder Families with prior military experience.
“This new Homeless Veterans Village in greater Atlanta is a part of Tunnel to Towers’ commitment to eradicating veteran homelessness nationwide. In a few short months, this facility which was once a blight on this community, will soon serve as a beacon of hope, says Gavin Naples, Vice President of the T2T Homeless Veteran Program. “We want to ensure that the men and women who served our country have a dignified home they can call their own and facilities like this one are the least we can do for those who sacrificed so much. We will not let our heroes down.”
Ted Decker, President and CEO of The Home Depot, also attended the groundbreaking. The Home Depot Foundation is one of the nonprofit’s earliest partners, supporting the T2T mission from the start. The Home Depot Foundation pledged to donate $500,000 to the new facility in Austell as renovations get underway.Tunnel to Towers is in the process of several transformative projects aimed at making a tangible difference in the lives of those it serves. A similar project was completed by T2T last November in Houston, TX where the Foundation converted a former hotel into a high-end, affordable apartment complex. It now provides permanent and transitional housing to more than 100 veterans in the greater Houston area.
The Foundation’s Homeless Veteran Program currently provides housing to Veterans in Riverside, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, and Phoenix, AZ. Additionally, it is in the process of creating homes for Veterans in twenty other cities including Las Vegas, NV, Denver, CO, and Orlando, FL.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
In the spirit of honoring our fallen heroes, the Cobb New Horizons Symphonic Band is proud to present a special musical performance on the 27th of May, 2024. The band, under the direction of Dr. Charles R. Jackson, will be performing at The Park at City Center, located at 101 Arnold Mill Road, Woodstock, GA 30188.
The event will commence at 9:30 am with the special musical performance, followed by the main ceremony at 10:00 am.
The Cobb New Horizons Symphonic Band is renowned for its exceptional musical prowess, and this Memorial Day, they will be showcasing their talent with a special performance. The band will be playing a selection of patriotic and classical music to honor the memory of those who have served and sacrificed for their country.
We invite you to join us for this heartfelt and meaningful ceremony. Let us come together to honor and remember those who have given their lives for our country.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
In support of and inspired by our Veterans, Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation, Inc. is hosting its inaugural “Building To Honor” Military Ball & Gala—an uplifting event that creates greater awareness of the Veterans Memorial, and celebrates the remarkable service and sacrifices of our Military and Veterans in Cobb County. The Military Ball & Gala will be attended by dignitaries, community leaders, friends, supporters, and Veterans from all wars – including six (6) Veterans who served in World War II.
Mark Your Calendar:
April 20, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria (200 Interstate N Pkwy SE, Atlanta, GA30339)
Keynote Speaker:
The well-known and highly respected Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and Four-Star General Jack Keane (Ret.) has an outstanding military career of 37 years. He is a frequent National News Media Contributor and currently serves as the Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War. He serves as an advisor to presidents, cabinet officials, members of congress, international leaders, CEOs, and business leaders.
Intel:
5:00 – 6:00 PM Pre-Dinner Reception (Cash Bars) – Auction and Fun with Bagpiper Scott McAliley
5:15 – 6:15 PM VIP Reception with General Jack Keane and Special Guests
(ticketed event)
6:15 – 10:00 PM Toasts, Dinner, Keynote Speech, Dance to the Live Music of Atlanta Seventeen, Live Auction, and More!
(ticketed event)
Dress: Military Uniform, Business, Semi-Formal
For media inquiries or additional information about the “Building To Honor” Military Ball & Gala, please contact Donna Kosicki, Chair of the event, at (678) 472-1802 or via email at Cvmfmilitarygala2024@gmail.com.
The Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization committed to honoring the service and sacrifices of our Military and Veterans. Through various initiatives, including the construction of a Memorial, the Foundation aims to create a lasting legacy that celebrates the bravery and dedication of our nation’s heroes, starting right here in Cobb County, Georgia.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
East Cobb Quilters’ Guild is proud of its long history of community service. Its members freely give their time and energy to create quilts, placemats,
Beads of Courage bags, and pillowcases for donation to area charities. This year it was decided that some of the placemats with a patriotic theme would be used by Cobb County Senior Services as gifts at their annual Veteran’s Christmas Luncheon.
“Our Veterans were so touched with having placemats that were especially made for them and loved being able to take them home as a keepsake. A heartfelt thanks from our Veterans and everyone at Cobb County Senior Services to the East Cobb Quilters’ Guild for their generous gift,” commented Andrea Rapowitz, Cobb County Senior Services Volunteer Services Manager.
In 2023, the Guild donated a total of 2,430 items to local organizations, an almost 100% increase compared to 2022. Donated items included: 344 quilts for Cobb County DFCS, for children who have been taken into foster care; 737 pillowcases for Ryan’s Case for Smiles, for children in hospitals in the Atlanta area and around the state of Georgia; and 524 placemats for Cobb County Meals on Wheels program, for older adults and disabled individuals who receive home meal delivery. A new recipient this year was Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The Guild donated 825 Beads of Courage bags to give to their patients who are coping with serious illnesses.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
In honor of Veterans Day, Cobb County Government offices will be closed Friday, Nov. 10. This will give our employees, veterans and non-veterans alike, a chance to spend time with their families for the extended holiday weekend. Veterans Day, Nov. 11, celebrates all those who have served in the United States armed forces.
Starting today, Nov. 6, Cobb County is illuminating its buildings green as part of Operation Green Light. We encourage individuals and businesses to join us by changing one light bulb in the entryway of your house or business to a green bulb. By shining a green light, we intend to let veterans know that they are seen and supported.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Warm sunshine bathed down on several dozen veterans, their families and supporters at East Cobb Park Saturday afternoon for an appreciation picnic.
Hot dogs, chips and cookies were available for all comers, and when a local band, the Tunnel Rats, wasn’t playing, patriotic and wartime music played on the sound system at the concert pavilion.
The tunes included Vera Lynn’s World War II classic, “The White Cliffs of Dover,” and when the “Star Spangled Banner” was played, many of the veterans in attendance stood at attention. Some placed their hands over their hearts, and others saluted.
The veterans ranged from more recent conflicts in the Middle East, Vietnam and even Korea.
Organized by East Cobb-based United Military Care and the Aviation History and Technology Center of Marietta, the event is meant to do more than show thanks and appreciation for those who served in the military.
It’s also part of a larger outreach project that involve other organizations to help connect veterans not just socially, but for services and support.
United Military Care has been doing that for more than a decade.
A newer group, Connecting Cobb Veterans, got going last year in association with the Cobb Collaborative non-profit, after spending time during the COVID-19 pandemic getting organized.
West Cobb resident Dan Valentine, one of the CCV leaders, said the group was founded because “we have so many great veterans’ service providers but we have so many veterans.”
With more than 40,000 veterans living in Cobb County, the need to connect them with all kinds of services—from housing and food assistance, to employment and education, and to navigate the Veterans Administration for benefits—is acute.
A handout at the picnic Saturday called a “family activity guide” provided information about how young people can become a “junior veteran ally” and encourages them to offer gratitude to veterans when they meet and encounter them.
“We’re doing a lot of outreach, getting veterans to reach out to other veterans,” said Dan Valentine of Connecting Cobb Veterans.
Another new initiative is the VECTR Center (Veterans Education Career Transition Resource Center), on the campus of Chattahoochee Tech in Marietta. It’s designed a one-stop destination for veterans to visit, call, e-mail or contact otherwise to access a wide variety of service providers.
“The idea is that anyone who has some sort of challenge or problem, they can go there,” said Valentine, who was an active-duty infantry soldier and supply pilot in the Army for seven years and served 18 more in the Army Reserve.
He said United Military Care director Kim Scofi was involved in efforts to better streamline access.
“Our focus isn’t about to provide these services, but to help them get the services they need,” he said.
Part of the outreach is aimed at family members, friends and even veterans who know other veterans, when they’re unaware of what may be available to them or who may reluctant to ask for help,
“Some of them are still in their shell a little bit, they want to tough it out,” Valentine said. “All we’re trying to do is tell them, and those who know them, that ‘if you want to move forward, we’ll help you.’ ”
Veterans wishing to get in touch can contact Connecting Cobb Veterans by visiting its website, dialing 404-479-1551 (phone or text) and via e-mail at veteranhelpccv@cobbcollaborative.org.
The next CCV meeting at the VECTR Center (980 South Cobb Drive) is Nov. 14.
The Marietta Veterans Day parade takes place next Saturday, Veterans Day, starting at 11 a.m. A ceremony follows at noon on the Marietta Square.
That event is organized by American Legion Post 29, the City of Marietta and the Aviation History and Technology Center.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Judge Robert Leonard led a celebration Friday where the Cobb County Veterans Accountability and Treatment Court (VATC) graduated two veteran participants during a ceremony at the Cobb County Superior Court Building with over 100 in attendance. This was the 19th graduating class of successful veterans, bringing 60 local participants who had completed the 18-month intensive treatment program. The Cobb County VATC began June 13, 2014, joining a nationwide surge of accountability courts specifically tailored for veterans, addressing issues of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and other mental health issues via counseling, job training, and additional needed services to achieve success.
The Veterans Accountability and Treatment Court’s mission is to increase public safety by reducing recidivism, alleviate the tax burden of incarcerating law-breaking veterans by assisting participants to become productive taxpayers versus inmates, provide intensive case management to address mental health issues and offer familiarity of structure and accountability, like what they encountered during military service.
An estimated 774,464 veterans reside in Georgia, with 47,000 living in Cobb County. Locally, 4,500 active duty/reservists are assigned to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. According to data collected from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), nationwide, over 39 veterans attempt to commit suicide daily, and 20 a day take their lives. Approximately 70% of veterans who took their own lives did not access services provided by the VA, which could have possibly prevented a majority of these suicides. The tragic daily deaths of 20 veterans is potentially a number that is under-reported since many of these veterans were embarrassed or unwilling to report their veteran status before ending their lives.
Together with the Atlanta VA, Cobb County VATC participants receive alcohol and drug treatment in Decatur and are given additional treatment locally via a private counselor. When a participant is stable in their recovery and treatment, the assigned VTC team addresses other issues that hinder an enrollee’s success, such as unemployment, lack of stable housing, the need for continuing education, or the benefits of family counseling.
One of the most unique aspects of the VATC is the Mentor Program. Each VATC participant is paired with a veteran who understands the challenges encountered by their assigned veteran to succeed in the program and graduate. VATC mentors must be honorably discharged from military service, have no prior criminal record, and are willing to commit to the duration of assisting a minimum of one veteran for the entirety of their 18-month VTC program.
Two veteran participants graduated from the VATC on August 25. With their mentors by their sides, these veterans turned what once seemed like a dismal path into a very bright future for themselves and their families.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation Board of Directors is hosting Concerts & Cocktails, a fundraising event, 5 – 9 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25, at The Cowan Historic Hall, 4271 Southside Drive, Acworth. Proceeds will benefit the Cobb Veterans Memorial Park. This event is free for all veterans and $10 for non-veterans. The park will feature a 142-foot “Star Tower” monument and honor walls listing names of veterans from each of the country’s military branches. It will also have a plaza for events, two reflection pools and a service hub providing information to veterans and their families. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024.
This event is free for all veterans and $10 for non-veterans.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Cobb County Composite Squadron, local unit of Civil Air Patrol, is hosting an open house at 6:30 pm on Thursday, 19-Jan-2023 at 1901 McCollum Pkwy, Kennesaw, GA 30144 (GA Army National Guard). According to Major Joshua Stultz, squadron commander, the entire community is welcome to attend and learn more about CAP as well as how to join.
Members of the squadron will be present to greet visitors and explain CAP’s missions for America. CAP was founded on Dec. 1, 1941. The open house is part of the 82th anniversary observance designed to create a greater awareness of CAP’s presence and contribution in the community. Please join us Thursday, to learn more about the Cobb County Composite Squadron visit www.ga090.cap.gov.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually.
CAP’s 58,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. CAP also plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Lassiter Concert Hall (2601 Shallowford Road) and features the 116th Army band, the Lassiter NJROTC and choruses from Mabry and Simpson middle schools and Davis, Garrison Mill and Rocky Mount elementary schools.
All veterans and active duty military members and their families will be welcomed into the concert hall for early seating beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Military veterans going back nearly 70 years turned out at East Cobb Park Saturday for an early Veterans Day tribute.
They were treated to hot dogs, hamburgers and other picnic fare, a local band playing Vietnam-era popular music and the thanks of an East Cobb and Marietta community for their service.
“It takes 10 seconds to thank the people who served to make our country a better place,” said Kim Scofi, executive director of United Military Care, which put on Saturday’s event.
It’s an East Cobb-based non-profit that assists veterans in need of food, housing and other assistance with such things as getting their veterans benefits.
The event included World War II-era memorabilia on display from the personal collections of local volunteers called Kelly’s Zeroes.
Several veterans were honored individually, including two veterans of the Korean War.
Walt Cusick Jr., who served in an Army transportation unit in Vietnam and later as an MP, is a longtime member and a commander in the Horace Orr American Legion Post 29 in Marietta.
Like UMC, Post 29—named after the first Mariettan killed in action in World War I—works to keep veterans connected and provides resources and services to those in need.
“It’s really good to see some of those guys,” he said, looking around at the assembled tables of veterans, many of them also from the Vietnam era.
“Think about it, you’re 18, 19 years old and then suddenly you’re in combat. A lot of guys came back and they just went to hide,” Cusick said, referencing anti-war sentiment that greeted some of the returning veterans.
He mentioned the case of Army Lt. William Calley, who was court-martialed for the My Lai massacre of nearly 400 Vietnamese civilians in 1968, who “gave a lot of good people a bad name.”
Veterans from later conflicts, Cusick said, “have more respect.”
He said his experiences in the military—which included stints in the Army Reserves and the National Guard—served him well.
“I grew up a lot,” Cusick said. “I learned a lot about trust and loyalty.”
Post 29 junior commander Tom Blackstock also saluted the families and employers of veteran reservists “who allowed them to go out and take care of our freedom.”
The Tunnel Rats, which has played at previous UMC events, also paid tribute with their rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Marietta History Center is continuing its series of “Diverse Cobb” programming in November with interviews chronicling the experiences of black military veterans.
“Color My Soldier” is a new series of oral history interviews featuring black Cobb veterans by Tim Penn. He’s the creator of previous Diverse Cobb programming, including “Lemon Street Chronicles” and “Color My Teacher.”
The veterans featured are Clinton Jones, Army; Rev. Jerry Dodd, Army; Vonna Wallace, Air Force; Jessie Bonner Sr., Air Force; and Commander Napoleon Parker Jr., Army.
The interviews can be seen every Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Nov. 30 at the Marietta History Center (1 Depot Street).
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors 55 and older and students; and free admission for Marietta History Center members, children under 5, and those with a military ID.
The veterans interviews will be available to watch on the Marietta History Center YouTube channel in the future.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Tunnel Rats have performed Vietnam-era pop tunes and country/bluegrass songs at previous United Military Care events. (ECN file photo)
United Military Care, an East Cobb-based non-profit, is holding its sixth annual free picnic to salute veterans at East Cobb Park (3322 Roswell Road) on Saturday.
The event is free to veterans and takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes Kelly’s Zeroes, military memorabilia, and re-enactors from Columbus as well as The Aviation Museum in Marietta.
The Tunnel Rats, a Vietnam Veteran band, and Jason Von Stein will debut “She Cried Douglas,” a song written about a photograph found in an old basement of a military couple and a soldier who didn’t come home.
It’s the second consecutive year for the event to be staged at East Cobb Park, after initially being held at the UMC office on Old Canton Road.
For more information about United Military Care, click here.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The community is invited to attend the groundbreaking for Memorial Park, hosted by the Cobb Veterans Memorial Foundation at 10 a.m. Friday, July 7, at 502 Fairground Street SE, Marietta. The park plans feature a 142-foot “Star Tower” monument and honor walls listing names of veterans from each of the country’s military branches. It will also have a plaza for events, two reflection pools, and a service hub providing information to veterans and their families. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024. View the invitation here.
RSVP to kmichonet@cobbvmf.com If you plan to attend, please park in the Cobb Civic Center parking lot.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The Honorary Commanders Association, a cooperative effort involving Cobb Chamber, Dobbins Air Reserve Base (ARB), General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard, National Defense Force and the Navy and Marine Corps, is seeking nominations for members of its 2023 class.
The Honorary Commanders Association annually selects community and business leaders and pairs them with military personnel in a yearlong program designed to give leaders an opportunity to learn about military activities, their impact on the economy and the various aspects of the national defense system.
Created by the Cobb Chamber in 1983, the association has grown over the years to include units of our nation’s Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Georgia National Guard, Coast Guard and National Defense Force. Each program covers a branch of service and includes a behind-the-scenes tour of local and regional military assets.
The deadline for nominations is July 12. Fill out the nomination form at https://bit.ly/3O0I6JI. The Honorary Commanders Association is sponsored by Marriott Atlanta Northwest Galleria, Blue Sky Exhibits, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Hawthorne Global Aviation Services.
For more information about Honorary Commanders Association, contact Joel Blockton at 770-859-2348 or jblockton@cobbchamber.org.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
The East Cobb-based non-profit United Military Care and Cobb County government are organizing what it’s calling the We CARE Resource Fair to assist veterans.
The fair takes place May 13-14 from 9-5 each day at the Cobb Civic Center (548 S. Marietta Parkway). Admission is free, as is a snack bar for participants.
The purpose is to assist veterans with accessing benefits and services, including health care, housing, food assistance and job opportunities.
According to release sent out by United Military Care, the goal is to reach 500 veterans needing help with those and other challenges.
More than 100 charitable and public agencies will be on hand to provide information and line up assistance for veterans, including financial and legal firms, the Georgia Department of Labor and private employers, Cobb Works, Meals on Wheels, vision screening and hearing aid vouchers from the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation, the U.S. Veterans Administration, Cobb Collaborative, Highland Rivers Behavorial Health and the Marietta Veterans Center.
Free COVID-19 vaccines will be administered by Cobb and Douglas Public Health, and veterans can get on-site showers and laundry service from the Community Incident Response Foundation.
Other agencies include a variety of veterans organizations, MUST Ministries and the Social Security Administration.
More details about the resource fair, including downloading free tickets, can be found by clicking here.
The event includes a special presentation of Quilts of Valor on May 13 at 11:30 a.m. honoring a Post 9/11 Veteran Public Figure and Vietnam Veteran.
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
When she received a medical discharge in 1994 to end her career in the U.S. Navy, Amy Stevens felt like many other military veterans.
Feeling disconnected after years of structure, routine and a close-knit system of support, she struggled to make the transition to civilian life.
But for Stevens, a current East Cobb resident, her challenges went beyond learning how buy a home and other basics of everyday living that were new to her.
A single mother, she had a special-needs son to raise.
Above all, the invisibility of female veterans was a bracing reminder of the historic limitations placed on them during their time in the service.
“The typical woman veteran—you would not imagine that they served in the military,” said Stevens, who was an educational and training specialist in the Navy for 15 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant.
While many male veterans proudly wear hats and t-shirts signifying their military service, Stevens said women veterans quite often do not.
In fact, she’s noticed that many of her fellow women veterans don’t even mention their military background.
Recognition for women veterans is starting to increase. Last weekend, Cobb County and state and federal veterans services agencies paid tribute to women veterans in an observance at Jim Miller Park.
Stevens is the organizer of a Facebook group, Georgia Military Women, and weather permitting, will appear on Thursday in the Marietta Veterans Day parade on a float for the Disabled American Veterans association.
Amy Stevens as a Navy lieutenant.
While she’s proud of those and other broader veterans organizations that she belongs to, Stevens has become an ardent supporter of other females who’ve left the service.
“I’m a connector person,” said Stevens, now 68, who earned master’s and doctorate degrees post-Navy and has been a licensed therapist.
She formerly was a mental health specialist with the Georgia National Guard, a role that launched her volunteerism for women veterans.
When Stevens signed up for Officer Candidate School in 1979, the U.S. armed services were changing for women.
Through the Vietnam War, most women in the military were nurses or served in other strictly support roles.
When they left the military, Stevens said, “they couldn’t just jump into the higher-paid jobs” in the civilian world.
Stevens was an outlier during that time, with a degree in broadcast television, and she served in a variety of communications, education and training positions in the Navy.
By the time she left, she noticed that “there was a different type of woman in the military.” It’s estimated that 20 percent of the nation’s current veterans are women.
The Georgia Military Women Facebook group, which was started in 2012, has more than 4,000 members and is strictly about making connections and referrals.
“We’re not a therapy group,” Stevens said. “We’re a girlfriend group. It’s great just to have friends who know what it’s like to serve.”
Stevens said there are an estimated 93,000 female veterans in Georgia, the fifth-highest total in the U.S., and around 38,000 in metro Atlanta alone.
Of that latter total, she said around 20,000 receive regular services from the Veterans Administration.
The women’s veterans groups she’s a part of tend to be younger than her, many of them with families and careers. But they still face similar challenges as their older mentors.
While many of the women come to the Facebook group seeking mental health help, Stevens said the networking efforts extend to such topics as financial issues and referrals for veterans and other services.
Group members are dispersed across Georgia, but Stevens enjoys the occasions when some of them can get together in person, just to socialize.
“It’s all about helping each other,” Stevens said. “It’s all about friendships, and it’s very rewarding to be a part of a forever family.”
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
We’ve posted previously about some Veterans Day events in Cobb County that are taking place this Saturday, Nov. 6, including the “Give Thanks for Those Who Served” festivities at East Cobb Park, and honoring women veterans at Jim Miller Park.
Also on Saturday, there’s a salute to veterans at The Battery Atlanta from 1-5 p.m. It’s organized by the Georgia Veterans Day organization for its 40th anniversary and starts off with a parade, followed by a program at the Georgia Power Pavilion Stage starting at 2 p.m
Veterans Day is Thursday, Nov. 11, and the 17th annual Veterans Day parade and ceremony presented by the Marietta Kiwanis Club and the City of Marietta.
The parade starts at 10:45 a.m. at Roswell Street Baptist Church, then heads to the Marietta Square, with an anticipated start time of 11:11 for the ceremony.
That commemorates the Armistice to end World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11:11 a.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 13, the Marietta Square will be the venue for a military appreciation concert by the Georgia Symphony Orchestra starting at 10:30 a.m.
Proceeds from the race will benefit Shepherds Men SHARE Initiative, the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation and Post 29 Service Officer.
All the other Veterans Day events included here are free and open to the public.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Come honor women who served in the military 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at Jim R. Miller Park, 2245 Callaway Road SW, Marietta. The event is hosted by the United States Veterans Affairs, Georgia Department of Veterans Service and Cobb County Government. Four female veterans who served in the United States armed forces during WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will share their stories related to their military service.
Also at this event:
Veteran services providers
Free COVID-19 vaccination clinic (Click here to see COVID flyer and register using QR code.)
Cobb County Animal Services Pet Adoption Trailer (adoption fee waived for veterans)
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!