By Greg Ellison

Social distancing standard makes having live audience difficult to accommodate

(Sept. 24, 2020) Unable to proceed in traditional fashion, but not wanting to skip its annual Veterans Day tribute, the Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation’s program will proceed virtually this year.

In lieu of the typical gathering held on Nov. 11 at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial at Ocean Pines, foundation members will present an online ceremony for remote viewing.

Board Member Emeritus Sharyn O’Hare said the patriotic program held in Ocean Pines each November is generally well attended, but that would be impossible this year because of the state’s covid-19 health-safety requirements.

“We usually have 600-1,000 people and we couldn’t due that to the governor’s mandate,” she said.

Last November, the Veterans Day tribute in Ocean Pines featured WWII Navy veteran Carroll Wagner, who elicited both laughs and tears while recounting a host of wartime memories.

Instead of the in-person gathering this year, the tribute will feature pre-recorded comments by guest speakers and a performance of patriotic selections by the Delmarva Chorus. The program will be available for online viewing beginning Nov. 11.

“At our last board meeting, we talked about it and said, ‘we just can’t do it’ because we’re afraid we’ll have more than the governor allows,” O’Hare said.

She also said members are striving to provide a semblance of normalcy with a program featuring segments recorded remotely and onsite at the Worcester County Veterans Memorial in Ocean Pines.

“It will be streamed,” she said. “There will be a ceremony, virtually, because we can’t stand not doing this and it is important.”

The prerecorded Veteran’s Day program will be available for online viewing on both the Ocean Pines Association and Worcester County Veterans Memorial websites and social media pages: oceanpines.org, opvets.org, facebook.com/OceanPinesAssociation, facebook.com/WorcesterCountyVeteransMemorial