Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/132206
NEWS BRIEFS The cities of Venice and Sarasota will host Memorial Day parades on May 27. Photo by Norman Schimmel VETERANS PLAN MEMORIAL DAY PARADES AND CEREMONIES The Sarasota Patriotic Observance Committee and the Venice Area Veterans Council, in coordination with Sarasota County's Veterans Benefits Unit, have announced plans for Memorial Day parades and ceremonies in Sarasota and Venice. Among the marching units will be veterans' service organizations, law enforcement agencies, fire departments and their color guards, civic organizations, high school bands, Reserve Officer Training Corps members and veterans with historical military equipment. The Sarasota parade will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, May 27, at Main Street and Osprey Avenue. Entries will move west along Main Street to Chaplain J.D. Hamel Park on Gulfstream Avenue. The theme of the Sarasota parade and ceremony is Never Forget, the release says. The ceremony at Hamel Park will begin immediately after the parade, a county news release says. John Rosentrater, director of Sarasota National Cemetery, will be the guest speaker. "The parade and ceremony are opportunities for citizens of Sarasota to honor veterans of the armed services, police officers, Sheriff's Office deputies, firefighters and emergency medical personnel," said Patriotic Observance Committee President Dan Kunkel in the release.