The Breezy Ridge Quilts of Valor Group will present World War II veteran Ed Lakatosh an honorary 300,000th Quilt of Valor® at 1 p.m. this Sunday, September 11 at the Tri-State Community Church, 12937 Derby Grange Rd in Dubuque.

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This honorary Quilt of Valor celebrates an important milestone of the total number of quilts made and awarded across the nation by the Quilts of Valor® Foundation (QOVF) groups and members to veterans and service members touched by war. Nationally, QOVF awarded the 300,000th quilt in early April 2022. To celebrate this milestone, QOVF groups have been encouraged to award an honorary 300,000th quilt in their community.

Breezy Ridge Quilts of Valor, Dubuque’s local group, selected Lakatosh to receive this quilt as a thank you for his service as an Army Air Corps tail gunner during World War II. Seven other veterans will also be awarded Quilts of Valor during the ceremony.

Group leader Cyndy Billmeyer said:

“Our group decided that we wanted to award our honorary 300,000th quilt to a World War II veteran as a special thank you to the members of the Greatest Generation for the sacrifices and service they gave to our nation,”  “We were thrilled to meet Mr. Lakatosh this spring when he participated in the Dubuque Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. One of our members, whose husband was also on the flight, asked Mr. Lakatosh if he had received a Quilt of Valor. When we learned he had not, we made sure we sent a nomination form home with him and are excited to present him with his quilt.”

Breezy Ridge Quilt of Valor Group is one of more than 600 QOVF groups and quilt stores that create quilts and award them to veterans touched by war. Since the group began in 2014, 978 Quilts of Valor have been awarded in the Dubuque area. More than 25 volunteers comprise the group to make the quilts and coordinate the ceremonies for the recipients and their families.

Billmeyer went on to say:

“Most all of us in the group have spouses or other family members who served in the military,”  “We are passionate about the work we do, and we have a lot of fun working together for this great cause. Our hope is before 2022 comes to a close, we will award our 1,000th Quilt of Valor locally.”

This story is personal for me as my son John, a current Iowa Army National Guard member, received a Quilt of Valor a couple of years ago.  It meant a lot to him and to my wife and me.  John continues to serve his country having just re-signed for 3 more years.

QOVF was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts, who had a dream where a soldier who was distressed was comforted by a quilt. This dream was the inspiration and basis for Roberts to begin a grassroots effort enlisting volunteers to create and award Quilts of Valor® that has grown into a national movement today. More information about QOVF can be found at https://www.qovf.org. The Breezy Ridge Quilt of Valor Group invites any interested volunteers that would like to help make quilts or help with award ceremonies to contact Cyndy Billmeyer at 563-590-2923 or via email at cyndy.billmeyer@qovf.org. In addition, Billmeyer can provide more information to anyone who would like to nominate a military member or veteran to receive a Quilt of Valor

Learn more about Quilts of Valor HERE

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