Solivita® veterans are all about caring and support Veterans Day ceremonies planned at Freedom
October 26, 2009
POINCIANA, FL---When our nation celebrated its 134th anniversary of the adoption of our country’s Declaration of Independence last July 4th, the Veterans Club of Solivita® signed a Community Covenant that is equally meaningful to active members of our armed forces and their families.“Our mission is to provide meaningful and appropriate support on a personal level for an active duty unit serving our country and their families during their time of need,” said Commander Herman Velez, a U.S. Air Force veteran.
The Veterans Club has teamed up with the Association of Poinciana Villages and local businesses to propose support for the men, women and families of one of several units of our armed forces, including a Lake Wales-based National Guard unit that will soon deploy to Afghanistan.
On Veterans Day, November 11, the Veterans Club of Solivita® will honor all members of our armed forces, past and present, at its annual Veterans Day ceremonies at Solivita’s® Freedom Park which is adorned with commemorative stones bearing emblems of the various branches of the service, and sand from various combat theaters of operation including Iraq, Afghanistan and Iwo Jima.
Ceremonies will feature the raising of the colors by the club’s honor guard, the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Gina Marie Incandela who has sung our National Anthem prior to many Orlando Magic basketball games, and a formation flyover by former U.S. Navy pilots from Tampa.
“One of the pilots happens to be the son of Bill Herman, one of our members and a former submarine commander,” said Velez, noting the Veterans Day ceremonies culminate with the formal Veterans Day Ball that evening.
The Veterans Day ceremonies and the Community Covenant are just two of the many meaningful programs undertaken by the Veterans Club and its 215 members representing every branch of the U.S. service and an associate member from Great Britain. Members are all U.S. Armed Forces veterans in good standing or veterans in good standing of an allied country during a time of war.
In addition to providing assistance to numerous area schools and churches throughout the year, the club visits hospitalized veterans at the Veterans Hospital in Orlando, and conducts various events that provide programs and support for its members and outside worthy causes.
The club also has established a Veterans Club of Solivita® Scholarship Foundation which grants scholarships to qualified high school seniors enrolled in a junior ROTC program. This year, seniors from Poinciana and Haines City high schools earned scholarships based on essays they wrote, their overall grades, and their extracurricular activities.
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The Veterans Club is one of 144 resident run clubs and organizations in Solivita® which has four consecutive times been named one of America’s 100 Best Master-Planned Communities for active adults by Where to Retire magazine.
The 4,300-acre community, located just 21 miles from Walt Disney World® in Orlando, includes 12 neighborhoods with detached and attached single-family homes priced from the $130s to $300s, two 18-hole championship golf courses at the Stonegate Golf Club, the 32,000 sq. ft. Riviera Spa & Fitness Center, The Palms with its 20,000 sq. ft. lifestyle center, the 17,000 sq. ft. Starlite Ballroom, a total of 18 lighted tennis and pickleball courts, two restaurants, and the Waterfront Galleries with a computer lab, billiards parlor, library, financial gallery, and studios for a variety of arts and crafts.
For more information about the Veterans Club of Solivita, contact Herman Velez at (863) 427-9409 or at . For more information on Solivita®, contact the welcome center at (800) 592-6099, or go to the community’s Web site at http://www.solivita.com.
