Nominations Sought for Veterans Service Award

Nominations are now being accepted from individuals and groups for the 2019 Veterans Service Awards presented by State Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Riverside County).

The awards are given annually to 10 military veterans from the 28th Senate District who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help their fellow veterans and members of the community.

Stone will present the awards in May at separate ceremonies held in Southwest Riverside County and the Coachella Valley.

“We owe our veterans a debt that can never be repaid,” Stone said in a prepared statement. “This award is just a small token of our thanks and appreciation for what they have done, not only during their time in uniform, but after they returned home.”

The Senator should not lack for nominations given Riverside County is home to more than 130,000 veterans. The county is home to the third highest veteran population in the state and is the host of two major military installations; various National Guard facilities and installations; and state and federal reserve facilities and installations.

Rancho Mirage (16.32 percent), Palm Desert (11.67 percent) and Palm Springs (10.6 percent) have the district’s largest veteran populations.

Menifee (9.38 percent), Canyon Lake (8.67 percent), Murrieta (7.02 percent), Temecula (6.52 percent) and Wildomar (6.11) also have sizeable numbers of veteran residents.

Veterans groups, such as American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts, are encouraged to nominate a member of their organization for the award and individuals can also nominate worthy veterans.

The deadline to submit nominations is April 12, 2019.

Award recipients must be residents of the 28th District,  which is entirely in Riverside County and includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage and Wildomar.

Applications and more information are available on the Senator’s website and by calling the Senator’s District Office in the Coachella Valley in Indio (760-398-6442) and Southwest Office in Murrieta. (951-894-3530).