Veterans will be honored in Kent, Ravenna events
Ceremonies are planned in Ravenna and Kent on Friday for Veterans Day, and county properties also are illuminated in green this week in honor of veterans.
The Portage County Commissioners veterans remembrance ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Friday at the Veterans Memorial on the Portage County Courthouse lawn at 203 W. Main St., Ravenna.
The Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority will host its annual Veterans Day Ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. Friday. The event will take place at the Veterans Memorial adjacent to the Kent Central Gateway Transit Center at 201 E. Erie St.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Daniel Eakins, deputy director of the Ohio Department of Veterans Services, will be the keynote speaker at the county event. Richard McClellan, director of the Portage County Veterans Service Commission, also will speak.
The Ravenna VFW Post No. 1055 and the American Legion Post No. 331 will participate in the county ceremony, as will Bill Wisniewski, chaplain for the Ravenna Police Department and UH Portage Medical Center. The Mogadore High School Band will perform, and there will be a missing man formation by the Kent State University College of Aeronautics and Engineering. Christopher Garlich will perform a bagpipe remembrance performed by .
David Dix, former publisher of the Record-Courier, will serve as the keynote speaker for PARTA's event.
PARTA has hosted a Veterans Day remembrance at the memorial next to its transit center since 2013, with the exception of 2020, due to COVID-19 concerns. In addition to a statue representing those who served, the memorial features 250 engraved bricks installed in honor of military veterans.
Bricks may be purchased for $50. The cost includes personalized engraving and installation of the brick at the Veterans Memorial. For more information or to purchase a brick, visit partaonline.org/veterans-memorial or call 330-678-7745.
The Portage County Administration building, the Kent Municipal Courthouse, the Ravenna Municipal Courthouse, Portage County Sheriff’s Office, and the Portage County Record Center will be illuminated green through Nov. 13 as part of Operation Green Light, a new initiative between the county, the National Association of Counties and the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers.
Residents are encouraged to participate by changing one light bulb in their home to a green bulb, either an exterior light, or an interior one, to spark conversation with others.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Veterans will be honored in Kent, Ravenna events
