Cascade United Methodist Church Hosts Banquet to Honor Armed Services Veterans

Veterans and their service to the country are the focus of the Cascade United Methodist Church’s 10th Annual Veterans Ministry Banquet, Saturday, November 8th, 2014 at 6:00 P.M. at the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel. Held the weekend before the official Veterans Day Holiday on 11/11, the event pays homage to the enormous sacrifice of the men and women in uniform. All proceeds go to support the programs of the Church’s Veterans Ministry.

On Sunday morning at 9:00 A.M., November 9, 2014, Cascade United Methodist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Lawrence Young, senior pastor, welcomes all veterans and visitors to participate in the service that celebrate and honors veterans.

Robert Haley, banquet chair and advisor to the Veterans Ministry, says veterans should be revered as heroes. “We should recognize and pay tribute to all veterans from every service branch and from every time period in American history because they are the brave men and women that have sacrificed to keep this nation free for the last 239 years and they deserve our support and respect,” said Haley, a former First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

The Veterans Ministry of CUMC was organized to provide healing, support and fellowship to its veterans, while serving as an educational and mentoring resource shared with the broader community. Outreach includes housing support for homeless veterans; two (2) post secondary scholarships annually; and greeting soldiers traveling through Hartsfield Jackson Airport. There are also plans to build a brick walkway on the church lawn with the names of veteran members engraved in each brick. The Walkway of Honor will be a permanent shrine to those who have served the country. Officers of the Cascade Veterans Ministry include Johnny Miller, president;
Mark Brailsford, vice president; Efton Arnold, Treasurer; Sam Harden, secretary; and Maynard Banks, membership chairperson.
Retired 2-Star Army General Major Ronald L. Johnson, now serving in a dual capacity at Georgia Tech, is the keynote speaker for the event. Johnson boasts an illustrious 32-year career in the U.S. Army, where he held the title of deputy commanding general and deputy chief of engineers, the second highest-ranking senior engineer staff officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Prior to joining Ga. Tech as Managing Director of the Tennenbaum Institute and Professor of Practice in ISyE, Johnson was a senior vice president for the National Basketball Association.
Acclaimed artist Gilbert Young, an Army veteran, is revamping his iconic “He Ain’t Heavy” graphite sketch to celebrate the occasion. Inspired by Young’s contribution, the event theme “Lifting Veterans through Art,” is reflected in the special run of signed artist proofs available for purchase. Young is perhaps best known for his portrait of Senator Barack Obama painted during his first presidential campaign that was later signed by President Obama. “History + Hope = Change” became a commemorative piece of the historic campaign.
Tickets to the CUMC Veterans Banquet are $60 each and are available at Cascade United Methodist Church, located at 3144 Cascade Rd., SW, Atlanta, 30311, or by calling 404-691-5770.