Date/Time and Location
Veteran’s Day 2022 is observed on Friday, November 11. In recognition of this important day, the UMass President’s Office DEIA Team hosted a speaker program on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 12:00 p.m.
Our panelists were two distinguished Marine Corps veterans who have dedicated their careers to helping other veterans:
- Thomas Lyons is the founder of the South Boston Vietnam Memorial Committee, a non-profit organization that erected one of the first community-based Vietnam Memorials in the country. He is the former Executive Director of the New England Home for Homeless Veterans and is a recipient of the UMass Boston Robert Quinn Award for Outstanding Community Leadership. Tom is a Marine Corp Veteran and served in Vietnam from 1968-1969.
- Patrick George is the Director of Veterans’ Services for the Town of Watertown. He is also the president of the Massachusetts Veterans’ Services Officers Association, the state-wide organization of veterans’ services officers. Patrick is a Marine Corps Veteran and served from 2007-2012 on Marine Corps Base Hawaii. He served two deployments in Afghanistan.
The panelists discussed their own personal experiences as veterans and talked about what it means to be a supportive colleague to someone in active service or returning from service. They also provided an overview of state-wide services that are available to veterans and their families.
Additional Event Resources
Access the PowerPoint Presentation
The PowerPoint presentation from the event provides 6 ways you can support a Veteran as well as the contact information for both presenters.
Find a Veterans' Service Officer near you
As Patrick George mentioned during the event, all towns and cities have a Veterans' Service Officer (VSO) that can provide you with Veterans Services information in your area. Massachusetts.gov provides a VSO search page for all Massachusetts residents to utilize to find your local VSO.