Veterans Day Ceremony at Steuben
On Friday, November 10th, The Steuben Center in Bath hosted a tribute ceremony in honor of Veteran’s Day. Residents and staff gathered to watch and give their thanks.
"We feel that it’s so important for, especially our veterans, to feel appreciated. Especially on days like this, they might not get as much attention from home as they normally do," Gretchen Hendrickson, a receptionist and administrator from the Steuben Center said, "Some of them are away from their families, some of them it’s just a really hard day for them. So we feel that it’s important to bring them some kind of peace and happiness on this day."
Some of the staff members at the center sang a song for the residents to get the event started. Then, they passed it off to local VFW members who gave speeches, held a pinning ceremony, and upheld several other military traditions.
"We are proud to be veterans," VFW member Carl Peters shared, "We’re glad to share our experiences and our love for the country with everyone."
The members felt that sharing their stories and honoring their fellow veterans in this way is important in acknowledging the national holiday of Veteran’s Day and bringing the community closer overall.
"We love our veterans. They’re always involved in everything that we do. We talk to them on a daily basis. We learn who they are as a person and we just feel like bringing something like that to them would be so important for them," Hendrickson said.
Many staff members, residents, and the VFW members themselves were moved after the events that occurred at the first Veteran’s Day Ceremony in the Steuben Center. Organizers and officials hope to continue the event every year going forward and hope to continue making it bigger and better.
As seen both on YouTube and WENY TV News