Suffolk To Recognize Women Veterans Appreciation Day

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — June 12 will officially be recognized as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day" following a unanimous approval vote by the Suffolk County Legislature, Legislator Susan A. Berland announced Wednesday. The designation will honor the sacrifices of women veterans who have served the United States.

The designation was the first official recommendation of the Suffolk County Women Veterans Advisory Board. The passage of this legislation came after testimony given by members of the board at a meeting of the Veterans & Consumer Affairs Committee highlighted the importance of allotting a day to recognize and appreciate women veterans.

"Women veterans are deserving of a day on which their service and sacrifice is particularly celebrated and appreciated," Berland said via news release. "We have a responsibility to recognize the women of Suffolk County who are our soldiers and veterans. We need to thank them for their service, acknowledge their bravery and advocate for them to receive the benefits and opportunities they should be afforded."

Berland serves as chairwoman of the Veterans & Consumer Affairs Committee and ex-officio member of the Women Veterans Advisory Board.

Executive board members of the Women Veterans Advisory Board, Christine Glynn, StaceyAnn Castro Tapler and Cathie Norton Doherty, released a joint statement.

"We are delighted to see this idea finally becoming a reality. While the day is set aside to appreciate the sacrifice to our country that women veterans have made, by giving them a day of recognition, it is our hope to draw attention to the women that have served, that have accomplished great things, that have blazed the trail before us and that have inspired other women to follow in their footsteps."