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<b><span style="font-size:48.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">NEWS RELEASE</span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"> </span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">For Immediate Release Date: 11/02/21</span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Contact: Public Information Office Phone: (919) 560-0000/Fax: (919) 560-0020</span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">E-mail: </span></b><span style="color:black"><a href="mailto:publicinformationoffice@dconc.gov" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">publicinformationoffice@dconc.gov</span></a></span><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">County to Honor Veterans with Virtual Veterans Day Event</span></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in"> </span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Ceremony at 11 a.m.; Call-in Q&A on benefits from
12-4 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif;color:#201F1E;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in">Durham, N.C. – </span></b><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">Residents and visitors planning to observe
Veterans Day 2021 are invited to join Durham County Veteran Services as they honor Durham County’s veterans of all eras with a virtual ceremony at 11 a.m. on Thursday, November 11, 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">The annual program, hosted by Veteran Services Officers Jonathan T. Crooms, Shawna M. Fuller, and Linzie B. Atkins III, will be available for viewing on the Durham Television Network
(DTN) as well as the County’s <a href="http://www.dconc.gov/">website</a> and the DCo social media accounts on
</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/durhamcountygov"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">Facebook</span></a><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">,
</span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/durhamcounty"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">Twitter</span></a><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">,
</span><a href="https://nextdoor.com/agency-detail/nc/durham-county/durham-county-government/"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">Nextdoor</span></a><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif"> and
</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/dcowebmaster"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">. DTN can be found on Spectrum Channel 8, AT&T U-verse channel 99, Frontier
Communications channel 70 and Google Fiber Channel 8.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">Following the ceremony, residents are invited to participate in “VA Benefits Q&A with a VSO.” Between 12-4 p.m., staff from the Durham County Veteran Services office will take questions
from residents regarding VA benefits and services available for veterans and their dependents, how to get help with applying, and any other questions you may have. Call 919-560-VETS (8387) to speak with one of the Durham County Veteran Services Officers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">The change from the normal in-person event and live ceremony to the virtual setting is due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines intended to keep citizens and staff safe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">“Please join us in commemoration of our former servicemen and women whom we call veterans for the magnitude of their service,” said Lois Harvin-Ravin, Director of Durham County Veteran
Services. “They stood in harm’s way both during peacetime and wartime to defend our nation’s freedom and our way of life. Let us remember them this Veterans Day and for all days to come.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">The virtual ceremony will feature Capt. Helen Tripp, MIH Program Manager and Peer Support Coordinator for Durham County’s Office of Emergency Management singing the National Anthem,
a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, a reading of proclamations from the Durham Board of County Commissioners and the Durham City Council, a reflection on Veterans Day, and an observance of the POW/MIA table. The ceremony will close with the playing of
Taps.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">For more information, contact the Veterans Services Department at 919-560-8387 or email
</span><a href="mailto:veteranservices@dconc.gov"><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">veteranservices@dconc.gov</span></a><span style="font-family:"Avenir Next LT Pro",sans-serif">.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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