Giving back to those who served: Pahrump home to Veterans Stand Down

Pahrump is well known as a town that supports and honors its veterans and for many of the organizations and businesses that serve the community, giving back to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces is a central goal.

More than two dozen such entities came together this past October to take part in the annual Veterans Stand Down, where they were able to engage with valley veterans and offer all manner of assistance, information and items that can help make the lives of those former military members that much better.

Hosted Thursday, Oct. 24 in the Home Depot parking lot, the 2019 Veterans Stand Down was hailed as another triumphant endeavor, with 26 total vendors turning out to serve the 80 veterans who made their way to the event.

“The Veterans Stand Down was a great success,” said Linda Wright, an event organizer and past president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary for the state of Nevada, after the event was said and done. “The weather started off windy but it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny, warm day.”

Wright explained that the key mission of the Veterans Stand Down is to raise awareness for veterans of the many services that are available to them right here in Pahrump, as well as to provide items such as clothing, shoes, hygiene products and more to veterans in need.

“We love our veterans and are here to help in any way that we can. They gave for us, now it is our turn to give back to them,” Wright declared.

The success of the 2019 Veterans Stand Down is due in large part to the many businesses and organizations that took the time to participate. The Home Depot, Joe’s Sanitation, Battle Born Financial Advisor, Farmers Insurance, Grand Canyon University, Lee Funeral Home and Nathan Adelson Hospice all contributed to the event, as did St. Therese Mission, Medicare/SHIP representatives and officials from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.

Several veteran organizations took part as well, including the Disabled American Veterans Chapter #15 and its auxiliary, the VETrans bus service, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #10054 Auxiliary and VFW Riders, the Nevada Department of Veterans Services, NVS Reno, the Las Vegas Vet Center, the Pahrump VA Clinic and the state’s Nevada Military Funeral Honors program.

The local Elks Club and Lions Club both helped out at the Veterans Stand Down, too, along with Got Knots Massage and massage therapist Betsy Lilly, the NyE Communities Coalition and its workforce program, the Pahrump Prostate Cancer Support Group and the Nye County Sheriff’s Auxiliary. There were even representatives from the U.S. Census to provide information on the upcoming 2020 census process.

“Thank you to our major sponsors the Home Depot and Joe’s Sanitation. We appreciate their support to our veterans each year,” Wright said in conclusion. “We also want to thank the town of Pahrump and public works. A special thanks to the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary for manning the registration table every year and a big thank you to all the organizations that came out to help provide information for our veterans. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You all are the greatest. See you next year.”

Next year’s Veterans Stand Down is already scheduled and Wright encouraged everyone to save the date, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com