The City of Lubbock’s Veterans Advisory Committee and Interim Healthcare Foundation teamed up for this year’s West Texas Salute to Veterans providing resources helpful to veterans and their families. The event took place on Saturday at the Clarion Hotel, where veterans got the opportunity to met with several organization and businesses gaining information on services including health, education and employment.
Britt Gorrall serves on the committee and says events like West Texas Salute to Veterans are great opportunities to support veterans and military families.
“Veterans, they’re very humble people,” said Gorrall, a Navy veteran herself.
“They raise their right hand and swear that I want to protect this country because they love what it represents. It’s great to take care of them just to say, “Hey, thank you for your service,” but also to pave the way for the next generation.”
She said several people ask how they can best serve veterans.
“A lot of the time they want to know what they can do that’s just beyond giving a monetary donation and events such as West Texas Salute to Veterans allows you to peek into the world of what it is to be a military member, what it is to be a military dependent in a family.”
She says it’s beneficial to learn about the resources available to veterans and let them know about them can really open a door for veterans, who might not otherwise know about the information.
With the help of businesses like Interim Healthcare Foundation, Gorrall says she hopes Lubbock becomes a template across America in the way communities care for veterans and military families.
Doris Reding with Interim Healthcare Foundation said she looked at the opportunities for veterans and wanted to see more educational opportunities for them, which is what led Interim and the Veterans Advisory Committee started working together with their common goal being veterans’ needs.
After a year of planning for this year’s event more than 40 organization were brought together, under one roof for veterans and their families. Both Gorrall and Reding agree it’s just one way they’ve decided to say, “Thank you.”
“We also want to never forget the sacrifices that our veterans have made for all of us,” said Reding, “We have the freedoms to do the things we do everyday and we can never forget that, we can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they’ve made for our country and for all of us.”
For resources from the West Texas Salute to Veterans click here.
