GRANITE QUARRY — Veterans, family members and special guests filled the fellowship hall at Christiana Lutheran Church for a special Christmas social and lunch.

Howard Myrick, who organized the event, watched as the room filled and shared that this was “my Christmas gift to everyone.”

Attendees numbered approximately 185, and it was noted by multiple that they thought this was the biggest number to come.

Community service awards and additional gifts were presented during the event, with F&M Bank providing both lunch and giveaways. Texas Roadhouse donated some gift cards for food for the giveaways as well.
Steve Fisher, president of the bank, brought greetings from everyone at the bank and wished everyone a Merry Christmas prior to the ticket drawings.

“Thank you for having us; we are always honored,” Fisher said.

Troy Horton served as the emcee for the social, welcoming everyone and providing announcements along with the names of the new veteran sign-ins for the day.

Following the pledge and prayer, everyone was invited to enjoy the lunch, which was prepared by Jason Smith with the Hot Dog Shack, who provides the meals for the weekly gatherings of the veterans.

The giving of gifts continued as the three award recipients, John Brindle, Thelma Brown and Cecil Whitley, were called to the front, where they were presented with plaques by Frontier Coffee Shop for 2023, thanking them for all that they have done for the organization.

Brindle, who serves as the register of deeds, was honored for all he has done for the veterans.

When asked what the award meant to him, he told of his family who has or continues to serve. He said he has a son in the service now who just moved from Texas to Arizona; his dad joined during Vietnam, and two grandfathers who served, one in World War II and the other in Korea.

“I come from a family of veterans,” he shared. “They all mean everything to me for sure,” Brindle said.

Brown, who helped to get the veterans group organized, is a United States Army veteran and served 21 years with the 846 Transportation in Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

“It’s been so grateful to know that they still love me,” Brown shared. “I’m so happy they’ve been carrying on the coffee shop, though the one that helped me get started, Tom Harrell, he’s passed on. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, but I’m grateful to be back and show my love, and I’ll be coming back to visit again.”

Brindle and Brown were both presented with special monogrammed aprons by Nelda Freeze as she shared that Brindle had cooked a lot of meals for the veterans on a regular basis and Brown who “was instrumental in starting this group that meets at the veterans coffee shop.” Brown has also owned a restaurant.

Whitley, an attorney in Salisbury and a United States Army veteran, was a first lieutenant and served in the 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam from 1969-1970. He was honored for all he had done. He was also named as the veteran of the year for the group.

“Most of you know all of the stuff that Cecil does for us, and we appreciate every bit of it,” said Horton.

He continued by saying that in addition to the veterans group, Whitley also does a lot for the fire and sheriff’s departments.

“You name it, he’s been involved,” Horton said, and they really appreciate it all.

Whitley was later presented with an additional plaque from Myrick, which said, “You will never be forgotten. To Lt. Cecil L. Whitley.”
A fellow Vietnam veteran, Myrick welcomed Whitley home after 54 years.

He also shared several items with Whitley that he said would be familiar to him and other veterans and would bring back some memories.
Whitley’s wife Nan shared that “it’s quite an honor for her husband to get this.”

She added that “he tries to not let everybody know what he does. He is very humble.”

A special presentation was made by Sen. Carl Ford, who presented challenge coins on behalf of the Rowan County Republican Party to three World War II veterans, Jim Deal, Len Hoffner and John Cauble.
The coins had all of the branches of service on one side and the United States seal on the other.

“These three gentlemen well deserve this and a lot more,” Ford said. “We just want to say thank you, and God bless you.”

Additional recognition went to Valerie Webster, who is Miss Rowan County Veteran, and Lee Robinson, who had been named as the chaplain of the year for the group.

Entertainment was provided by Greg and Kim Edds, who performed several Christmas songs, and Greg shared some jokes with the crowd.
The event concluded with several songs being presented by Myrick on the computer, the final one being the new version of Lee’s Greenwood’s “God Bless America,” which brought the crowd to their feet.

Horton expressed special thanks for the day, including the church for allowing them to use the facility, F&M Bank, Smith for fixing the food, and for “everyone showing up and being a part of it. If ya’ll don’t show up, we wouldn’t be here.”