BOYLE COUNTY, Ky. — For veterans across four central Kentucky counties, an annual luncheon hosted by Heritage Hospice is about more than a meal. It is a chance for the community to recognize their service and sacrifice.
Each November, the Heritage Hospice Veterans Committee organizes the event, serving as many as 1,000 veterans from Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties.
Sharon Martin, who chairs the event, emphasizes the importance of this opportunity to give back to those who served the country.
“I can’t thank them enough,” Martin said. “It’s a very small thing to do for what they have done for me and my country. So I feel honored to be able to serve them.”
The annual fish fry relies on volunteers who help prepare and serve meals to veterans. Retired Air Force Gen. Howard Hunt, a Boyle County native and veteran, said their enthusiasm helps make the gathering meaningful.
“You look at the smiling faces and the enthusiasm that the volunteers have to serve,” Hunt said. “It’s received by the veterans with such appreciation.”
Hunt said honoring veterans should not end with one event. He believes younger generations also need to understand the sacrifices made by those who served in the military.
“We need to share that with the people that are coming up behind us, young people, elementary school, junior high, high school, college,” Hunt said.
For Martin, the goal is to make sure veterans know their community continues to appreciate and support them.
“Whatever it takes to make them feel better, hold their head up, know that they can make it through another day, that’s all the thank you I need,” Martin said.
The luncheon is part of Heritage Hospice’s mission to show compassion and care for veterans and others in the communities it serves.
More information about Heritage Hospice and its events is available here: News
