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Two decades of service
Bill Nichols State Veterans Home celebrates 20 years
Published Monday, November 30, 2009
Honor: Rick Smith and his mother Doris Smith help the executive director at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home store a plaque honoring his father’s efforts to establish the facility. His father, the late Carlton Smith who served as a veterans affairs officer for Tallapoosa County, helped the late U.S. Rep. Bill Nichols establish the funding for the facility in the late 1980s. He was honored for his work at their 20 year anniversary celebration Monday.
Officials across the state came to Bill Nichols State Veterans Home Monday to celebrate the facility’s 20th year with staff members, residents and family members of the two men who helped bring the facility to Alexander City.
“Congressman Bill Nichols engineered the political mechanics of getting the appropriations for this building, but Carlton Smith, the veterans affairs officer for Tallapoosa County, had the vision and the dedication to ensure this effort became a reality,” State Sen. Ted Little said.
The home is the oldest state-operated veterans care facility in Alabama. It was opened in 1989 after local and state officials, including Nichols and Smith who are both deceased, worked together to build the home at its current location.
At the ceremony, Smith was honored for his efforts with a plaque of recognition from the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs for his part in the building’s establishment. His widow, Doris Smith, and his son, Rick Smith, attended the event in his honor.
“He was a man that had the affairs of the veterans first and foremost in his mind. He was a real patriot and he wanted to see the veterans get the care they deserved and he knew how to work the system,” Rick Smith said. “Once he realized he could make a difference he was tireless in his efforts.”
In his role as the state veterans services officer for east Alabama, Smith oversaw veterans affairs in seven counties.
“He put a lot into getting this thing here,” Doris Smith said. “He went to every meeting no matter where it was, and he did it at his own expense.”
Nichols’ daughters, Margaret Valchos and Memorie Mitchell, were also in attendance.
“It brings back memories for me,” Valchos said. “Twenty years ago we were all here for the dedication … it was a special day for us.”
Nichols was not only a U.S. representative, but he was also a World War II veteran, who lost a leg in battle. His daughters said that his experiences in war make veterans care especially important to them.
“I think those who served our country ought to be taken care of and I think most Americans feel the same way too, and it’s good to see that happen here,” Valchos said. “I think the veterans here are heroes.”
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