Veteran and Patriot of the Year 2023
Mobile Bay Area 2023 Veteran of the Year
David W. Riley
US Army and US Coast Guard (Retired)
Mobile Bay Area 2023 Patriot of the Year
Jo Bonner
President of University of South Alabama
2023 Sponsors
About Us
Mobile Bay Veterans Day Commission
The Mobile Bay Area Veterans Commission was organized in 1986 with the purpose of energizing the area’s Veterans Day commemoration. The organizers were Admiral J. Lloyd “Doc” Abbot, USN (Ret.), Admiral Bill Stewart, USCG (Ret.), Captain Hal Pierce, USN (Ret.), and Lieutenant Colonel Vince Schiavoni, USAF (Ret.).
The Mayor of Mobile was invited to be Chairman of the Commission and other distinguished military officers and civilians of the area were also invited to be part of the Commission. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce CEO was also invited to be on the board and the Chamber was involved with it from the very beginning. Their plan was to have a Veterans Day parade through downtown Mobile and to have an Honors Luncheon where a Patriot of the Year would be recognized. That recognition was to be the highlight of the Veterans Day observance. Today, the award is presented at the luncheon where a nationally recognized patriot is honored.
Since 1997, a Veteran of the Year is selected and also recognized at the Honors Luncheon. The Veterans Day Observance now includes the Parade of Flags ceremony in the afternoon and a patriotic concert in the evening presented by the Mobile Pops Orchestra, both at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park Medal of Honor Pavilion.
Since 2001, at the Patriot Dinner, on the evening before Veterans Day, the Commission has recognized one or more Mobile Bay Area citizens who have supported our veterans and veteran causes by presenting them with the President’s Award. This year the name of that award was changed to the Captain Hal Pierce Memorial Award.
Mobile and Baldwin Counties selected as VETERANS REGIONAL SITE
We're very proud to have been selected as a Veterans Regional Site – one of only 32 sites across the United States!
In his 1954 Veterans Day Proclamation, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for the formation of a Veterans Day National Committee (VDNC) to oversee national planning and coordination of the Veterans Day observance. Each year, the VDNC designates community Veterans Day events as regional sites.
In 2022, the VDNC approved Mobile and Baldwin Counties as a model for cities across the nation. We are so proud to be recognized.