Speakers encourage community to honor veterans

Ronda Hobbs spent her childhood around veterans and today is a proud one herself.

The Marine veteran was the featured speaker at the annual Veterans Day ceremony held Nov. 11 in front of the courthouse on Main Street in Coshocton.

“My grandparents' house was always full of veterans, and as a little girl, I was surrounded by them,” Hobbs said. “I loved anything to do with the military. It didn’t matter if it was movies, television or books. I even still have my metal toy tank from when I was about 7 years old."

Her grandfather and his brother served in World War II, and she had an uncle who served in Vietnam. By the time she was 10, she knew she wanted to be a Marine so her family would have all the branches covered.

“I was lucky my family was very supportive of the things I wanted to do as a child,” Hobbs said. “At that time not as many women went into military.”

Her dad didn’t get to serve in the military because he started working in the coal mines at the age of 12 to help his family. However, he took Hobbs fishing and hunting, helped her with her claustrophobia, and did whatever else he could to help prepare her for her dream of serving in the Marines.

“His bravery in doing that at so young an age inspired me many a times as I went through bootcamp and after,” she said.

Hobbs is married to Fred Hobbs, a Vietnam veteran, and they are active in several veterans groups including the Coshocton County Honor Guard, the Warsaw American Legion, Amvets Post 36 and Vietnam Veterans of America. She and the guest speaker — Blue Star Mothers President Sharon Burns — encouraged those who attended the ceremony to celebrate veterans every day through volunteer work, donating to veterans organizations or just spending time with them.

“Stop and listen to veterans and their stories,” Hobbs said. “Just being there makes a huge difference. Make every day Veterans Day.”

The annual ceremony is organized by the Coshocton County Veterans Council, the Coshocton County Veterans Service Commission and its office staff. The Walhonding Rube Band provided patriotic music, Sam Scott sang the "Armed Forces Medley," Tim Vance and Jim Brown played taps, and Pastor Sam Brown from Calvary Baptist Church gave the opening and closing prayer.