The Miss-Lou Veterans Coalition (MLVC) had a busy and productive 2014. We brought our Veterans scholarships to $10,900 by adding $500 to the Co-Lin Foundation Fund, Natchez Campus and $500 to the fund at Central Louisiana Community Technical College.

We’re excited about CLCTC’s upcoming online course of law enforcement officers, which will be useful to the many veterans in that profession. For information about the course, contact Mignonne Ater, director of the Ferriday campus, at migonneater@cltcc.edu or 318-757-6501, extension 4501.

Our Miss-Lou Honor Guard has participated in more than 90 events throughout Mississippi and Louisiana. Their primary purpose is to provide a military “final salute” to those who have served our country. They also participate in state and regional conferences and ceremonies at elementary, middle, and high schools as well as at community colleges. All appearances are at no cost to the family or organization making a request.

Kudos to veteran Oscar Seyfarth, chairman of the local Wreaths Across America. Oscar and his family introduced the program 10 years ago, and at Christmas 2014, placed nearly 1,000 wreaths on the graves of fallen heroes and heroines in the Natchez National Cemetery. MLVC Inc. participated in that ceremony and contributed $550 to cost of the wreaths.

This past year, our annual Veterans Day Parade was hosted by our sister city, Vidalia, and led by grand marshall Frank Williams.

All of our 2014 activities were made possible by the parade sponsors. We take this opportunity to gratefully thank those sponsors for their support and generosity.

Many thanks also to those who participated in the parade — floats, cars, bikes, first responders and law enforcement.

Soon the MLVC will announce our project for the Natchez Tricentennial celebration. We expect this project not only to have an immediate impact on our community but also to provide ongoing economic benefit. Look for more on this in the near future.

Finally, we acknowledge our Board of Directors, made up exclusively of veterans: myself, President; Conrad Anderson Jr., Treasurer; Col. John Curran, Secretary; Rodney Violette, Honor Guard Commander; Major Vernon Stevens; Glen McGlothin; David Hedrick Jr. Thanks to all for your hard work.

You can find us on Facebook at MLVC Misslou Veterans Coalition or email us at mlvcmisslouveteranscoalition@outlook.com.

 

Doug McCallister is president of the board of the Miss-Lou Veterans Coalition.