Here's how you can celebrate Veterans Day in Centreville

CENTREVILLE – Centreville Downtown Development Authority is overseeing a Veterans Day event this weekend.

Pattie Bender, DDA program manager, said Saturday’s tribute continues a yearslong tradition spearheaded by the village’s DDA.

The morning-long event starts at Fairview Nursing Home, where DDA members will greet veterans and present a gift.

The group will then gather at 9:30 a.m. at Yoder’s, where they will board a St. Joseph County Transportation Authority bus. It will drive the group and any willing participants to the corner of Clinton and Main streets. From there, the group will follow the Military Freedom Walk back to Yoder’s.

The public is invited to join DDA officials in the walk and subsequent fanfare at Yoder’s.

Bender said veterans are encouraged to gather at Yoder’s, where they will be saluted and issued a gift from the DDA. The store is offering donuts and coffee to all, including the general public wishing to witness the event.

State Sen. Jonathan Lindsey will make a brief speech and veterans who are present will be asked to introduce themselves.

Bender said the DDA’s support has extended well beyond a once-a-year acknowledgment to Centreville veterans. She cited the Military Freedom Walk along the south side of Main Street.

“From Yoder’s all the way west to Shell (gas station) is our Military Freedom Walk,” Bender said. “I’d say there’s about 50 to 60 people recognized along the Military Freedom Walk … there’s actually names on both sides of the metal signs.”

Bender’s parents, Bill and Midge, were both military veterans. Her dad was a member of the military police in the Army and her mother was a Women’s Army Corp radio operator.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Here's how you can celebrate Veterans Day in Centreville