GOOD NEIGHBORS: OAK RUN QUILTERS
L-R: Donna White, Janet Sutphen, Joanne Hartriem, Pat Cicogna, Louise Mazuchowski, Diane Church. Not Pictured: Patti Schwartz, Julie Moore,Mishele Ecman, Barbra Carney, Terry Miller, June Longe
To Honor And Comfort Oak Run Quilters do their part to honor military veterans with Quilts of Valor. BY JOANN GUIDRY • PHOTOS BY STEVE FLOETHE
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rom a patriotic palette of red, white, and blue, with white stars thrown in for good measure, the Oak Run Quilters create one-of-a-kind Quilts of Valor for military veterans. For the past three years, the Oak Run Quilters have made 65 QOV quilts and counting, not one a duplicate, which are presented to service members and military veterans. “It is our honor and privilege to be a part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation’s mission,” says Pat Cicogna, a past president and current QOV group leader with the Oak Run Quilters. “It is the least we can do to say thank you to those who have served our country.” Founded in 2003 by Catherine
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Roberts, the Winterset, Iowa-based Quilts of Valor Foundation is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. Its mission is to cover service members and military veterans who have been touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor. The QOVF is represented by more than 600 groups like the Oak Run Quilters across the country. Since its inception, the QOVF has awarded more than 260,000 quilts. Terry Burtchell, who is based in Port Orange, serves as the QOVF Florida state coordinator, working with 500 QOVF members and 27 registered quilting groups. “Like all of our Florida QOV quilting groups, Pat Cicogna and the
OCALA’S GOOD LIFE retirement redefined
Oak Run Quilters give of their time, talent, and materials to say thank you to this country’s military veterans. These QOV heirloom quilts that they so lovingly make are very much appreciated by all who receive them,” says Burtchell. “We encourage people to become involved on any level you can, either as a quilter or by making a donation to a local group. It will be time and money well spent for a worthy cause.” FOR CICOGNA, who grew up in Long Island, New York, and learned to sew as a child from her grandmother, becoming involved in the QOVF mission seemed inevitable.
