Vets Town Hall – St. Johnsbury, 2024

All are invited to a Vets Town Hall at Catamount Arts Center in Saint Johnsbury, Vermont. Veterans are invited to speak about what their service means to them. Non-veterans are encouraged to attend and listen. This event is non-political, and all perspectives are valued. There will be no debate on American foreign policy.

Click here or scroll down to RSVP. RSVPs are optional, but encouraged. Snacks will be available.

For all attendees: All community members are invited to this event. Only veterans will speak, but non-veterans are encouraged to attend and listen.

Throughout the event, you may hear something you agree or disagree with. You may have a question. Or you may want to say encouraging words with the intention to help. However, we ask that you please refrain from responding. We are simply here to listen and learn about what it was like to serve in the wars that this nation has chosen to fight.

For speakers: Tell us what your service means to you. Please tell us about your own experiences, whatever they may be, rather than speaking broadly about an issue or organization. You’re a member of our community, and it’s your stories, reflections, and insights that we’re anxious to hear.

Each veteran will be given up to 10 minutes to speak. (This time may vary somewhat depending on how many interested speakers we have.) Veterans who would like to speak can RSVP below or contact vermont@vetstownhall.org. If you’re considering speaking but prefer not to register, we encourage you to attend. After pre-registered speakers go, the host will take speakers from the floor, time permitting. The goal is for every veteran who would like to speak to have a chance to do so.

Of course, veterans (and all community members) are also welcome to simply attend and listen.

If you’re interested in speaking but aren’t sure what to speak about, click here for some questions that can serve as starting points.

Accessibility: An accessibility ramp is located at the front of the building; to the right of the front entrance there’s a ramp to the lower level where the town hall will take place. Accessible parking will be reserved on the street (Eastern Avenue) by the ramp.

Community Partners

After a period of service in the Air Force as a medic, Marty McMahon (Lyndon’s event host) returned to academic studies in literature, language, and rhetoric, receiving an MA and an MLitt from Middlebury College. Marty has worked as a high school teacher, a chimney sweep, and a field technician in alternative energy (including working as a contractor and crew chief on the Navy TACTS program, installing wind and solar systems on their off-shore platforms). He has taught at CCV, Vermont College, and Norwich (supervising cadets while teaching Military Literature to Special Ops personnel in their Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis online program). For five years at CCV he served as a Veteran & Military Resource Advisor while also facilitating the Veteran Reading Group for the Vermont Humanities Council.

For nearly 50 years, Catamount Arts has worked to make the arts a fundamental part of community life. Catamount Arts offers international, independent, and classic films; exhibitions by local and regional artists; live music, dance, and theater performances; summer camps and arts education programming for children and adults; a regional box office for more than 40 organizations; a gathering space for community events; and much more! Our mission is to inspire appreciation of and participation in the Arts, promote the Arts throughout the region, and cultivate the Arts as an integral part of community life. Learn more.

Thank you to:

• Marty McMahon for emceeing the event
• Catamount Arts, our community partner and venue sponsor
• Vermont Veterans Outreach Program for attending and being available to provide peer support
• Cabot Cheese, for providing snacks
• This event is supported in part by the Vermont Humanities. (Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Vermont Humanities or any other supporting organization.)
• …and the many individuals and organizations who have offered advice, feedback, and support