On Saturday, Feb. 21, the Veterans’ Regional Advisory Committee of the Tri-County Council will hold a welcome home event from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Baseball Stadium, for OIF and OEF Veterans and families throughout the region. Spouses of Service members currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are encouraged to attend.

The purpose of this event is twofold. It is important to thank our Veterans, service members, and families for their service and sacrifice in support of our country through deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Of equal importance: this meeting is a listening session. 

Following the welcoming home ceremony, there will be a series of focus groups designed to hear the voices of southern Maryland’s Veterans and families. Listening to the thoughts and concerns is very important to the work of the Veterans Committee.  Feedback from this forum will help the committee strategize how community stakeholders, the state, and the VA can better partner and support our region’s OIF and OEF veterans and families now and in the future.   

This event is free and while registration is not required, it will help the committee to know how many individuals and / or families to expect. Families are cautioned that there will not be any child care services available during the event on site. 

To help the committee plan for the number of participants in this event, or, for those with questions about the meeting or the Maryland’s Commitment to Veterans project, contact Arianna Hammond, MCV’s Regional Resource Coordinator for Southern Maryland, at (410) 725-9993 or ahammond@msmhs.org .   

These focus groups are made possible through the generous support of the Blue Crabs Baseball Club. Light refreshments will be served. Each OIF or OEF Veteran, service member, or family attending will receive two tickets to a 2009 Crustacean Nation ballgame. A tour of the new Stadium will be offered following the meeting.

For driving directions to Regency Stadium, log on to the Stadium’s website at www.somdbluecrabs.com or call the administrative office at (301) 638-9788.