JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Local, state, and federal leaders gathered at the Moran Theater of the Jacksonville Center for Performing Arts to honor those who served at the Veterans Day Breakfast.

“We take care of veterans like no one else, because we have a high veteran population. Our number one employer obviously is the U.S. Navy,” says Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico. “It’s a personal touch for me because I grew up an army brat. My dad served in the United States Army, retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. His father served in the Army, my mom’s father served in the Army, so it’s really just a legacy for me. I didn’t serve active duty, but for here, to carry it on in a government role and make sure we take care of our veterans in this city, it’s quite an honor, and so happy to be here to celebrate our veterans today.”

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The holiday means a lot to State Representative and Air Force veteran Dean Black. We were and are a military family going back many, many generations, particularly in the male line. All of the men in our family served: my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on. I served, go Air Force, and I have two sons who serve today. So it means a lot in our family, it’s who we are, and it’s part of our community,” says Black.

Congressman Aaron Bean says he wants to make sure veterans are taken care of. “They made us a promise. You know, it’s an understood promise; they took care of us, they volunteered, and as a result, we will take care of them. So to make sure the V.A. is properly funded and, as I mentioned, we have so many veterans, I’ve got two staff members that all they do is military affairs, veterans affairs. So any veteran that is having trouble with the V.A. or any type of military benefit, please call the Bean office and let us work for you.”

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan says, “I think it speaks volumes to what we should be doing for our veterans. These are challenging times for a lot of people and I think in a city like Jacksonville, where so many of us are connected to the military community, it’s just incumbent upon us to make sure our veterans are taken care of and honored. We’re so fortunate to have so many of them here.”

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