The city of Cortez and the town of Mancos are asking residents to change one of their outdoor lights to the color green in recognition of local veterans and to celebrate National Veterans and Military Families Month.
“Green is a color of hope, renewal and well-being,” Mancos Mayor Queenie Barz said during the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday evening.
“Greenlight” also signifies forward movement, so “greenlighting” for veterans is “intended to spark a national conversation regarding the recognition of veterans,” Barz said.
Both municipalities proclaimed November as National Veterans and Military Families Month.
“Let us honor our veterans not only on Nov. 11, but all year-round by changing one light to green in a visible location – on your porch, your home or at your office and keep it glowing every day as a symbol of appreciation and support for our veterans,” Barz said.
Cortez Mayor Mike Lavey has had a green light glowing on his porch since Veterans Day of 2019.
“Greenlight a Vet is a national campaign to establish visible support for U.S. veterans by inviting Americans to change one light in their homes to green,” Lavey said in a phone interview.
The green light becomes a “perennial beacon of support and appreciation,” he said.
As a veteran, Lavey said it is very reassuring and inspiring to him to see green lights shining on porches and in businesses across the country.
“It’s reassuring to see vets are being remembered,” he said.
The Ute Mountain American Legion Post No. 75 is sponsoring the 2020 Montezuma County Veterans Day Parade on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. on West Montezuma Avenue between Chestnut and Harrison streets.
The Cortez Police Department, color guards from local chapters of veteran organizations, the Cortez Fire Protection District, Humvees from the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, transport vans from the Disabled American Veterans and various other groups are expected to drive down West Montezuma Avenue.
The Montezuma County Patriots and the Daughters of the American Revolution also are expected to join the event.
“Their participation will be apolitical – there won’t be any political signs,” Mike Brunk, a Vietnam veteran and organizer of the parade, said in an interview with The Journal.
The Pagosa Springs San Juan Squadron will fly planes over the parade at the start and the end of the event.
The Montezuma-Cortez High School and Middle School band will march and play music.
“It’s wonderful seeing children enthusiastic about veterans,” Brunk said.
Of Montezuma County’s population of 26,000, 10% are veterans. But that number is most likely higher now, because it is based on the 2010 Census and includes only veterans registered with the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs.
“Having lived in Maryland and the Florida Keys, it is nice to come home and find what a tremendous support is provided by the community for veterans,” Brunk said.
ehayes@the-journal.com
