PORT ANGELES — For months, Holly Rowan, president of the Clallam County Veterans Association, worked with local veterans groups and the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Port Angeles to plan a regional Veterans Day ceremony that has traditionally taken place in the hanger on Ediz Hook.
Planning starts in March, Rowan said, because security has to be arranged, and those details take time to work out.
But because of the federal government shutdown, all that planning for Tuesday’s event went by the wayside.
“Due to the lapse of appropriations for the federal government,” the Coast Guard will be unable to host community relations events, “including the Veterans Day event at Air Station Port Angeles,” the air station said in a statement.
“Given that there are deadlines, it really threw us off,” said Rowan, who works with various veterans organizations in the area.
She said that, as the shutdown dragged on, she became concerned about publicizing the ceremony as taking place at the air station only to have to cancel at the last minute, causing confusion for those planning to attend.
Rowan and other organizers were able to line up another location quickly: the Port Angeles High School auditorium, 304 E. Park Ave.
Rowan figures that while some attendees may be disappointed that they will miss out on the atmosphere of the Coast Guard hanger, others might like the high school better. It’s heated, while the hanger is not, she said, and the auditorium seats are more comfortable.
The event is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 10 a.m., with the high school band playing prelude music about 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be from 11 a.m. to noon.
This year’s guest speaker will be Retired Navy Captain and Fleet Marine Force Chaplain Mike Hakanson. Music will be provided by the Port Angeles High School band and choir as well as the Grand Olympics Chorus, Juan de Fuca Harmony and bagpiper Rick McKenzie.
Parking will be available, with handicap parking and access on the east side of the building.
After the ceremony, complimentary refreshments will be available in the lobby, courtesy of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Michael Trebert Chapter.
Rowan said the group always bakes “an unbelievable amount of cookies” for the Veterans Day ceremony.
The women are “incredibly helpful,” she said, and always provide “extra hands for assistance.”
Sequim event
The city of Sequim will host Veterans Appreciation Afternoon from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, with free hot dogs at the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.
The event is to celebrate and thank veterans, active-duty military and their families in recognition of Veterans Day on Tuesday. The public is welcome to attend.
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Kathy Cruz is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. She can be reached by email at kathy.cruz@sequimgazette.com.
