From left to right: ROA National Chaplain Sherman Reed, ROA President Judith Davenport, and her husband John Davenport.
Eighty members and 62 families participated in a majority post-deployment Yellow Ribbon event at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee from Feb. 26 – 28, 2021 hosted by the Regional Air National Guard.
The event was on the verge of going totally virtual, but it was decided that because of the small numbers, the event could go on in person. CDC guidelines were upheld through the use of scanned barcodes. All participants, to include resource providers, were badged in and given a barcode on the back of the participant badge, and barcodes were tracked throughout the event.
The Yellow Ribbon program’s new procedures established during this COVID environment allowed potential contact tracing in the event of a positive test by any participant. This protocol is a test of the new standard going forward for Yellow Ribbon in-person events.
An average Yellow Ribbon event unfolds on Friday which is normally just for registration and setup. There are about three to four breaks throughout the day. On Saturday, the main event happens with four scheduled events for visits to the Resource Providers. On Sunday, there is normally a half day with only two provider breaks to the Resource Providers.
“We were excited to see the Yellow Ribbon events were back on, albeit with a few changes,” said President Judi Davenport.