On a beautiful, fall-feeling Saturday, Oct. 19, the SaddleBrooke Quilters’ Quilts of Valor (QOV) Committee awarded 20 beautiful handmade quilts to veterans, who reside in SaddleBrooke, in two ceremonies at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center.
SaddleBrooke Quilters 2024 Co-President Linda Greenough greeted veterans and thanked them for their service, as well as a very tardy, “Welcome Home,” to veterans of the Vietnam era who never received a congenial recognition of their time abroad.
Each Quilts of Valor presentation was preceded by a Color Guard (American Legion in the morning and U of A’s ROTC in the evening), the Pledge of Allegiance, and a healing prayer.
Ms. Greenough described the 2020 beginning of the SaddleBrooke QOV group and honored the founding members: Reva Muhr, Jeanne Ragan, Melanie Karpowicz, Teri Caplener, Jeanne Soling, Ann Stoneciper, Ann Steinsvaag, and Barb Snow
Kristine Prass, co-chair of the SaddleBrooke Quilters’ Quilts of Valor Committee, is also a member of the national Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOVF), which, founded in 2003, has more than 600 chapters around the country. Since then, chapters have collectively awarded more than 397,886 quilts to veterans. As part of the ceremonies, each veteran is presented with a certificate stating that they and their quilt are registered with the national foundation. The mission of QOVF is, “To cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.”
There are more than 100 members of the SaddleBrooke Quilters, and Kris Prass said, “Nearly 50% of our members take some part in the Quilts of Valor projects each year.” Candidate veterans’ names are given to the QOV Committee by various community groups within SaddleBrooke, including Senior Village and the American Legion.
This year, 23 quilts were made by members of the QOV Committee and other members of SaddleBrooke Quilters. “It’s a tremendous undertaking and worth every drop of sweat and tears that goes into these works of healing and comforting art,” said Kris. “To see our veterans ‘melt with gratitude’ when they are wrapped in their quilt is such a rewarding feeling.”
An additional quilt was awarded to Ronald Odell, U.S. Navy, last month, and two quilts were awarded on Nov. 10 at the Salute Our Veterans Ceremony in the MountainView ballroom.