TIFTON — Community members, veterans, and local officials came together this Veterans Day to celebrate and honor the heroes who served tirelessly to protect the nation’s freedoms.

With the American flag hanging high overhead on the Tifton Fire Department’s Ladder 1, local residents gathered at Jack Stone Memorial Park Monday morning to show their respect and gratitude to the veterans of the community and the nation.

Mayor Julie Smith opened the ceremony, welcoming those in attendance and thanking them for demonstrating their dedication to America’s veterans.

“This day serves as a reminder of the courage, the dedication, and the resilience men have shown for our country,” Smith said. “Each veteran has a unique story, with experiences that have shaped them and the lives around them — these stories remind everyone of the real impact military service has on veterans and their families.”

Tyron Spearman of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, the master of ceremony for the event, prompted the audience to recognize the veterans in the crowd. He asked the attending veterans of each division of the military to stand as they were lauded, beginning with the Army, then Air Force, Navy, and finishing with Marines.

Spearman expressed a feeling of honor for having so many veterans in attendance of the morning’s ceremony.

State Rep. Clay Pirkle was also present for the event, serving as the keynote speaker.

Pirkle stressed the importance of remembering the dedication of the nation’s veterans to protecting the country’s ideals of freedom, likening the threats facing the country that they combat to a wasp nest hanging over his front door — not always noticed, but ever present and ever growing.

“If danger around us is left unchecked, it grows, and one day, it will bring real danger to our doorstep,” Pirkle said. “Our veterans and active duty military stand ready to face those threats, both seen and unseen, just so we may live without fear.”

He acknowledged the efforts of veterans in giving their all to earn freedom for each person living across the country today, thanking them for this level of sacrifice and commitment to the nation’s cause.

Pirkle asked those in attendance to do the same, urging them to show their gratitude to the veterans in their communities, uphold the freedoms they fought for, and honor the sacrifices they have made.

“Let us be worthy of the trust they’ve placed in us, knowing that while they may have faced the wasps’ nest, they’ve given us a safe and peaceful home,” Pirkle said.

Following a performance of “God Bless the USA” by Brenda Shaw, Melissa Wood, speaking on behalf of the Tifton Exchange Club, presented each veteran in attendance with a gift as an expression of gratitude for their service to their country.