Senoia to present commemorative banners to local veterans and their families Nov. 20

SENOIA, Ga. — The Senoia Downtown Development Authority will honor 26 local veterans during a brief ceremony at Alive After 5 on Friday, Nov. 20, when each veteran or family will receive the commemorative banner that has hung along Main Street in recent months.

Each custom banner features the veteran’s name, photograph and branch of service. Most of this year’s honorees will accept their banners in person. Families of honorees who have died are invited to accept the banners in their loved ones’ memory.

The ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. at the event stage in downtown Senoia. It will open with the national anthem, and emcee Evan Stitt will welcome guests to a program that honors all veterans, not only those pictured on this year’s banners.

Susan Stitt will share excerpts from a 2011 Veterans Day speech by Cody Gillies, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who served in the Army’s Ranger Regiment. Gillies, then a law student at Mercer University and now an attorney, has given permission for his remarks to be shared. The speech pays tribute to service members and the families who sacrifice alongside them, noting that veterans “represent the very best of us as a society.”

Evan Stitt will then recognize all veterans in the audience by era of service, from World War II through the Global War on Terror, along with those currently serving and the families of service members. Also honored with certificates of gratitude this year will be veterans who have purchased or had purchased on their behalf, a personalized brick for the Senoia Veteran’s Memorial.

April Anderson, president of the Senoia Downtown Development Authority, will present the banners as each veteran’s name is called.

“These banners and bricks give our community a way to say thank you, by name, to the people who served. Presenting the banners and certificates to the veterans and their families is one of the most meaningful things we do all year.”

The Senoia Downtown Development Authority offers the banners each year in honor of Veterans Day. Information about ordering a banner for 2027 or purchasing a brick for the Senoia Veterans Memorial are available at enjoysenoia.com or by emailing [email protected].

Alive After Five is sponsored by the Senoia Downtown Development Authority and will be held Friday, November 20th from 5:00 – 9:00 P.M. Please mark your calendars and make plans to join us in downtown for an evening of celebrating our veterans, holiday shopping, special guest appearances, great food, and more!