PARIS – The Maine Veterans’ Home in South Paris will host a Veterans Day ceremony at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at the South Paris facility, 477 High St. The 90-bed facility is considered home to more than 75 veterans, representing all branches of the military.

Guest speaker will be Robin Shepard, veterans service officer from the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, Maine Veterans’ Services.

Shepard is a familiar face in the facility as he spends two days a month there helping both residents and community veterans and dependents with service-related benefits.

Also participating in this year’s ceremony will be members of the Western Maine Veterans Advisory Committee, Pat Young, administrator of the facility and the South Paris Fire Department.

“In addition to the regular ceremony that we host each year on the Sunday preceding Veterans Day, we have a very exciting extra event this year, ” said Young. A set of plaques will be presented to commemorate each branch of the service. This ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

The plaques will be presented by Petty Officer Second Class Jesse K. Conde, stationed at the Pentagon in Washington. Conde is originally from New Port Richey, Fla. He enlisted in the Navy in 1994. According to Young, his motivation for this gift came from visiting the World War II Memorial dedication in May of this year.

He asked himself, “What can I do for our veterans to show my appreciation. Jesse then saw these plaques in Washington, and decided to take his idea a step further. He talked to his in-laws, Jerry and Jeri Greenwell of Bethel, and the idea was presented to the South Paris facility. This display is being presented by Conde, in memory of Jeri Greenwell’s mother, Carolyn Brooks, a Marine veteran who resided at the home.

The public is invited to both of these ceremonies. Refreshments will be served and staff will be available for tours of the facility. For more information, phone 743-6300, or visit maineveteranshomes.org.