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| THE COLONY NEWS | NOVEMBER 2022 | 13 OUTREACH TO HISTORY By Rita Nastri The Veterans Day Ball As long as I have resided in The Colony, residents have celebrated and marked Veterans Day, Nov. 11, with a patriotic recognition. Just think about it, when The Colony opened years ago, many of the residents aged 55+ were probably Veterans of WWII and/or Korea. These proud men and women were openly honored and appreciated throughout the United States. Keeping to this national recognition, Del Smith, Cdr, USN, Ret, along with his cronies approached the HOA to have a Military Veterans Ball. The original petition to the HOA was for this Ball to be for Officers only. Well, you can see this wouldn't work well anywhere except on a military base. After protestations, the HOA agreed for it to be a Ball for military members. However, the Ball also would include spouses/ partners, so again the admission criteria changed. Once the word was out, ticket sales skyrocketed. The Ball committee had to limit the ticket sales to Veterans/partners who could show their DD214, which is a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty issued by the Department of Defense. The Veterans Day Ball has always been the most elegant affair at The Colony. There is a protocol for so many things when the military is involved. Flags must be in marching order, as must be the musical tribute to each branch of service. The program must include patriotic songs as well as a guest speaker and a tribute to our MIA Veterans and with the story of the MIA table. The program always closed with TAPS. The Rockerettes have performed a patriotic drill in their sequined red, white and blue uniforms over the years; they continue to provide flag salutes for not just The Colony HOA, but also for other civic clubs and organizations. Move-in day to The Colony for me was Halloween 2007, and my husband and I were at our first Ball in November. My most vivid memory of the evening was the melodic strains of Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade coming from behind the curtains. The Disco Ball was spinning, and slowly the curtains opened to reveal The Valley Winds, an 18-piece band, playing. It gave me chills, since I knew it would be my husband's last military event. A retired Marine Officer, he stood proudly at attention whenever it was required, and we danced and danced. Del and his wife, Connie, chaired the sellout affair for years, until they were no longer able to provide the leadership required for an event of this caliber. Marci Guiles took over the helm for a few years, and then I chaired it in 2010, 2011(11-11-11) and 2013. As the years progressed and our older Veterans moved on to their next chapters, fewer and fewer people attended. COVID was instrumental in canceling the Ball indefinitely. It can only be hoped as our new residents move into The Colony, they will pick up and resume the tradition of the Veterans Day Ball to honor not only our younger Veterans, but also those who have gone before us.