Month: September 2019

BCQOV News

September 14, 2019

It was was a blustery day up on the hill at Mt Pisgah State Park today where Veterans and supporters met for the annual Patriots in the Park event.   It was a very moving program with Iraq war veterans speaking.  I think what made it so poignant for me was that the fact that for these young men the reality of war is still very fresh in their minds. Deb Struble, Sharon Sargent and I had the honor of awarding quilts to veterans whose service spanned from the Iraq War to World War II: Clyde Seeley, World War II and Korea; Joseph Kozak, Korea; Vernon Perry, Iraq; and Robert Smith, Kuwait Liberation, Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Left to right: Clyde Seeley, World War II and  Korea; State Representative Clint Owlett, Vernon Perry, Iraq; State Representative Tina Pickett, Robert Smith, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan; Joseph Kozak, Korea.

The nip in the air was a reminder that fall is upon us and for me it was a reminder that my last post was in June.  Summer seemed to fly by with the all the activities that summer brings and that included several QOV award ceremonies. 

In July, Ruth Clearwater and Renee Stewart awarded QOV’s at the Haight’s Pond VFW’s annual picnic.  The recipients were: Gerald Corbin, Vietnam; Theron Hitchcock, Vietnam; Brian Coleman, Vietnam; Stuart Brink,Vietnam; and Glenn Owen, Korea, Desert Storm, Haiti, and Yugoslavia.

Left to right: Stuart Brink being presented his quilt by his wife, Donna; Brian Coleman by his daughter, Jodilynn Coleman; Willis Brown by his wife, Genelle; Gerald Corbin by his wife, Linda; Glenn Owen by his mother Donna Reese; and Theron Hitchcock by Renee Stewart. 

Ruth also awarded quilts to George Lehman, WWII; Duane Walker, Vietnam; George Eddy, Vietnam; and Bruce Boatman, Korea and Vietnam.  Ginny Nutting, Mary Brandenburg, Faye Lubold, Renee Stewart and I awarded 4 quilts to members of one family: Kenneth Brown, WWII; Brian Wiggins, Gulf War; Carlton “Skeet” Wiggins, Vietnam; and Burton Adam, Vietnam, at their annual family reunion.  One thing that makes this chapter so wonderful is the participation of our dedicated members as well as the continued support of the Friendship Quilters.

Left to right: Kenneth Brown, WWII, receiving quilt from Ginny Nutting; Carlton “Skeet” Wiggins, Vietnam, receiving from Renee Stewart; Brian Wiggins, Gulf War, from Faye Lubold; Burton Adams, Vietnam, from Mary Brandenburg. 

On the National level, QOV has a new director and is undergoing changes that will facilitate the way we support our mission.

One of the new ideas to help address our backlog of quilt requests is the 2020 block drive. The 2020 QOV® block drive features a basic Nine Patch. The purpose of the National Block Drive is to give individuals or groups a way to participate by making blocks, and have their blocks used in QOVs made and awarded to our service members and veterans across the nation. The 9-patch block is versatile and can be assembled many ways into a QOV. They will be used by our State Coordinators to help fill outstanding requests not covered by local groups and will ease our national waiting list of requests from 2017 (627 requests) & 2018 (3,712 requests). How to participate: The deadline for this block drive is December 1, 2020. For more information go to the QOVF website: https://www.qovf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Block-drive-2020-Revision2-2019-0830.pdf . We can send these blocks away or use locally. As the award nominations keep coming in, we will need to have some kind of sewing bee this fall. 

If you are working on a QOV and need fabric, please contact me and due to donations, there is no need for you to make a backing.  We have backing fabric in different colors that will coordinate with any QOV top. 

Next month will be the first anniversary of Bradford County Quilts of Valor.  We have grown and learned a lot in our first year.  More info on us in the next post. 

Carol 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

QOV national block drive

Friendship Quilters’ Meeting – Riverstone, Towanda Sept. 27