Community Calendar

Charleston, IL – The Coles County Council on Aging along with the Coles County community will be honoring local and national military service members at the Annual Veterans Fair Celebration on Friday, November 11, 2015 at your LifeSpan Center, located at 11021 E. County Road 800N (from Route 16, North on Loxa Road approximately .5 mile at the corner of Loxa Road and DeWitt Avenue East.)  This event is open to U.S. Veterans of all ages.

Sponsored by The Tapella & Eberspacher Law Firm, the Veterans Fair Celebration will kick-off with Presenting of the Colors by Mattoon High School J.R.O.T.C.at 9:00 a.m. with selected brass student-players from the Eastern Illinois University Music Department playing the National Anthem – with a  Moment of Silence to follow at 9:01 a.m.  The Veterans Fair will also feature “Lunch with a Lawyer” – the quarterly FREE luncheon and informational program beginning at 11:00 a.m. 

The Thanksgiving-style meal will include turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, noodles, green beans and dessert. There is limited seating available for Veterans and their families.  Reservations are required – call (217) 639-5150.

It is important for everyone to have their affairs in order, but Veterans may have military-specific issues that need to be addressed.  Attorney Angel Wawryznek will be our guest speaker.  She will address Veteran-specific estate planning.  If you have specific questions that you would like answered the day of the Veterans Fair, please contact Angela Hampton at The Tapella & Eberspacher Law Firm at (217) 639-7800.   

Additional elements of the day include Sarah Bush Lincoln departmental services, Salvation Army, LakeLand College VA Services and other service providers for Veterans and Military families.  The CCCoA LifeSpan Family Theater will also show a special movie beginning at 1:00 p.m. – the 1970 military comedy, “Kelly’s Heroes” - starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor, and Donald Sutherland, just to name a few!

Do you need a ride to an event at your LifeSpan Center? Dial-A-Ride can help you - at no charge! Call (217) 639-5169 or 800-500-5505 to schedule your ride.  Please call prior to November 9^th to schedule your ride for the Veterans Fair.

To honor Veterans and their families, Dial-A-Ride will offer free ZIP LINE service on Friday, November 11th. To check-out the route schedule, please call the number listed above - or visit the website: www.dialaridetransit.org

For additional information regarding the CCCoA Annual Veterans Fair Celebration please contact Laura Severson, LifeSpan Volunteer Coordinator, at (217) 639-51580 or visit us online at www.colescouncilonaging.org.  The event is free and open to the public.

In the attached photo (left to right): Brian Peterlich, Dial-A-Ride Operations Program Director, Laura Severson, LifeSpan Volunteer Coordinator, and Rick Easton, LifeSpan volunteer and United States military veteran.