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Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks visited with area veterans after delivering the keynote address at the Metro Area Veterans Council service on Tuesday.
There was nothing usual about the Metro Area Veterans Council inviting Ottumwa ophthalmologist Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to keynote their annual Veterans Day service in Cedar Rapids. Miller-Meeks, a Republican who recently lost her bid to become Iowa’s first female member of Congress, is a veteran, as is her husband. But as she spoke of honor, commitment and the quest of veterans to remain relevant, the political undertones were unmistakable.
“Your actions have consequences, and your words have meaning,” Miller-Meeks said during her keynote address. “For those of you in this room who are worried that Veterans Day and the honor and commitment and sacrifice that you’ve made is losing its popularity and you will be forgotten, I’m imploring you to become relevant again.”
Miller-Meeks went on to tell veterans and their spouses that they can play a significant role in welcoming home the men and women who are now returning from war and by serving as a support system for the families who await their soldier’s return.
“So, for those of you who think you may become irrelevant, I am telling you that your time for leadership has not passed,” she said. “Your time for leadership is now. It is not the person who has the rank that is the leader. It is the person who emerges from whatever circumstance to bring the solution, to forward the issue, to speak for those who cannot speak. Your time for leadership is now.”
The call for a second wave of service ends with Miller-Meeks stating, “It is not always the victor who is well-remembered in history; sometimes it is those who have been vanquished.”
Following the event, many in the audience came up to speak with Miller-Meeks and show their support for her congressional run and her continued service in Iowa’s 2nd District. She has not publicly indicated if she will again venture into politics, but, if she takes her own advice, it’s quite certain that she will remain relevant.
An audio file featuring a musical selection from the service performed by the New Horizons Band and narrated by Cary J. Hahn, a journalist and Navy veteran, is available.
