Falling Through The Cracks...Not On My Watch!

Okay…before you start with the ‘he is so sweet’ ‘what a wonderful husband’, blah, blah…blah let me assure you those things are true. This isn’t about that. This is about me making sure that the appropriate credit is directed to the right person.  Since becoming the Virginia Coordinator for the Quilts of Valor I have been getting the attention. I’ve been making the Awards, giving interviews, gotten some TV time and handed the floor several times to say a few words about this and that and distribute some comfort and healing quilts to some very deserving service members and veterans. If you only knew…well finish reading and you will know.

I became the Virginia Coordinator because Elaine found out it was a vacant position, she would have done it but felt it would have been a conflict with her duties and obligations to the Tidewater Quilters’ Guild.  If I had to deal with the conflicts and absolute lying that was going on behind her back I would have told the Guild they are on their own…but I’m not Elaine. Anyway I looked into it, believed it to be an opportunity to become more involved besides just longarming for QOVF and could bring something to the table…we’ll see…get back with me in a year or so. 

One of the recent events, well two really…there is a connection, that has brought some recognition to Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOVF), Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association (CVMA) and The Tidewater Quilters’ Guild (TQG) also falls on Elaine’s shoulders. When she read about the Virginia Beach Community Development Corporation’s (VBCDC) project named Cedar Grove her heart rate increased, the blood started pumping and the wheels turning. She contacted VBCDC and proposed the Awards of a Quilt of Valor, crafted by the members of the Tidewater Quilters’ Guild, to each disabled veteran who qualified as a QOV recipient and resident. It was welcomed with open arms. She had already been a part of the 2012 CVMA Poker Run and she again reached out to CVMA. She supplied the VBCDC contact information to the appropriate CVMA Officers and Cedar Grove would become the recipients of the profits from the 2013 CVMA Poker Run…which appears will be substantial.

She gracefully stands in the background while others take or get the credit…that is who she is. That is not who I am. She has overcome a tremendous amount of obstacles, some are part of life others were  conceived by very evil and in my opinion ignorant individuals, to make sure that The Tidewater Quilters’ Guild members are properly recognized for thousands of hours of work and dedication. She lives and breathes to see that the mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is met. I have only known her since 1961, so maybe before then, but since then I have absolutely no knowledge of her ever wanting to join or support a motorcycle association, club or group, ever…more than she wanted to join CVMA as an Auxiliary Member. I kind of think their slogan has something to do with that…Vets Helping Vets… She’s like that.

So as I bask in the recognition, the spotlight, as Cedar Grove reaps the rewards of a lot of responsible and dedicated volunteers from The Tidewater Quilters’ Guild, the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association and the Quilts of Valor mission takes several more steps forward to attain its goals I wanted to redirect the attention, that she would never seek but so richly deserves to someone I just happen to be extremely fortunate to know. Thanks Elaine Page for all you do, especially what you’ve done for me.