Providence City Council Meeting | October 6th, 2025 | Veterans Celebration
Opening Remarks and National Anthem
Councilman Juan Picciardo welcomes attendees to the annual Veterans Day celebration in the Providence City Council Chambers. Retired Inspector Luis Del Rio of the Providence Police Department performs the national anthem to open the ceremony.
Remarks by Council President Rachel Miller
Council President Rachel Miller addresses the chamber to express gratitude for the ongoing service and sacrifices of veterans. She emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive mental and physical support services to ensure no veteran is left behind.
Remarks by Director of Veterans Affairs
Councilman Picciardo introduces the Director of Veterans Affairs for the State of Rhode Island, who highlights the city's veteran healthcare and benefit systems. The Director praises local initiatives and the high percentage of veterans employed to serve their peers.
Keynote Address and Citation: Colonel Sharon L. Harmon
Retired Colonel Sharon L. Harmon shares reflections on her historic 40-year military career as the first African American female colonel in the Rhode Island National Guard. Following her speech, Councilman Picciardo presents her with an official city council citation honoring her trailblazing service.
Recognition of George L. Ortiz Junior
The council recognizes George L. Ortiz Junior, a Marine veteran and founder of the Elijah Project, for his extensive community service. Ortiz speaks about his personal journey, the challenges faced by disabled and homeless veterans, and his organization's efforts to distribute support buckets.
Recognition of Dr. Luis Diaz
Dr. Luis Diaz, Vice President of the Dominican American Veteran Association, is honored for his leadership and advocacy. He shares his personal story of being drafted during the Vietnam War and reflects on the meaning of service.
Closing Remarks and Acknowledgements
Councilman Picciardo recognizes several other distinguished veterans in the audience and highlights upcoming volunteer opportunities for veteran care packages. He concludes the ceremony by thanking all attendees and inviting the honorees forward for a group photograph.
Speaker 0
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Evening, everyone. Welcome to the Providence City Council Chambers. For this evening, we'll be celebrating a ceremony honoring our veterans here in our capital city, Providence, Rhode Island. At this time, I would like to call a familiar face to Providence residents and maybe not so familiar because he's been retired for quite some time. With us this evening is a gentleman who has been a member of the Providence Lions Club for twenty three years and who has and who was the president of the club for three separate occasions.
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You may know him also as one of our finest in the city of Providence as a Providence police from the Providence Police Department. He was the first Spanish speaking officer to join the department in 1974 and retiring with a distinction in 2011. His final assignment was that of director of police department's mountain command unit for twenty five years. Please welcome to sing our country's national anthem, retired thirty seven year veteran of the Providence Police Department, inspector Luis Del Rio.
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Oh, Jose, can you see by the dawn's early he light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, or the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket's red glare that was bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave or the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Speaker 0
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Thank you. That was a great rendition as always, inspector Luis Del Rio. Once again, good evening. My name is Juan Picciardo. I am the, province city councilman in Ward 9 along with my colleague here and president, Rachel Miller and my colleagues that we will, joining us after session.
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At this time, I'd like to bring our council president, Rachel Miller. Thank
Speaker 2
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you so much, pro tem Picciardo, and thank you for starting this tradition in the Providence City Council of recognizing and celebrating the service and contributions of veterans in the city of Providence. I am, of course, joined by my esteemed colleagues, councilwoman Vargas, councilwoman Althea Graves, majority leader Espinal, councilman Sanchez, and I apologize to anyone I might have missed, I did a good look. And we're joined here by so many state leaders as well. Director Yarn, thank you for joining us tonight. One brief thought here on the eve of Veterans Day in 2025.
Speaker 2
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We very often say, as Veterans Day comes, thank you for your service. And I this year, but really every year, recognize that a veteran service does not, stop with the service and sacrifice, when they were active. We have so many people in the state of Rhode Island and the city of Providence who have continued their service every day throughout their careers in public service to the city of Providence, to other veterans, to community members. And so I think that is worth recognizing and celebrating every day. And then also in 2025, unfortunately, we have not, as a as a nation, figured out how to fix the most appropriate way to say thank you, right, which is to make sure that every single veteran and every single resident has what they need to survive and thrive.
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And so, here in Rhode Island, we are blessed. We have a city and state that are bridging together services to make sure that people aren't left behind, to make sure that people have both the mental and physical support that they need. And I know that we have a very strong veterans community that is an active part of that every day. So I thank you, and thank you, Pro Tem.
Speaker 0
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Thank you. Thank you, madam president, for those kind words and welcoming everyone here, my colleagues that are joining us this evening. Once again, good evening, everyone. As we gather here in Providence and our capital city, it's my great privilege to welcome you all to our annual Veterans Celebration. And I say annual because I think I hope as long as I live here and now that I'm a alumni, I'm gonna continue to be an alumni of the province city council and a veteran in the city of Providence that we continue this this tradition of never forgetting our veterans and those who serve.
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The theme continues to be a legacy of loyalty and service. Those who of us who serve in the military will always be of service. And along with our family, we know that our grandmothers, spouses, children serve at the same time. This year holds a special significance. Not only do we honor the sacrifices made by our veterans across all generations, but we also look ahead to a monumental milestone as this country will be celebrating or is celebrating two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of America.
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Rhode Island has played a pivotal role in that fight for independence. And today, we see the same revolutionary spirit in the unwavering loyalty and service of our members, whether they're in the frontline, whether they're retired, whether they're marching for the rights. We always say and I always say, we'll fight for those rights. Doesn't mean that we all have to agree, but we will fight for a nation that honors the constitution of this United States. Tonight, we celebrate that that enduring legacy, which stress which stresses from the battlefield of the revolution right up to our service members today.
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So thank you for being here. And I'm truly honored to have in our presence the director of veterans affairs for the state of Rhode Island. But he also serves in a commission that I chair, which is the special commission on veteran affairs that the director honorably serves, and he's throughout our state representing veterans and families. And I'd like to call him to say a few words. Thank you.
Speaker 3
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Good evening, city of Providence. Good evening. Madam president, thank you for allowing me to come and as you know, I serve with humility, you know, to to serve others, and it's truly a blessing. You know, when we come together serving others in the people's house, it makes a difference. And as as me so I look at what the city of Providence has accomplished instead of short time span.
Speaker 3
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You know, I I talked about the mayor, Donald Brett Smiley, when he first took office. One of his priorities was how can we better serve our veterans. That's amazing. And then my dear friend pro temp, our miss Fasciado here, we fought we he has accompanied me this past year. This man has accompanied me across the entire state to see what can we do and based on what the other municipality is doing, how can we infuse some of that energy, some of that items here in our fair city.
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And we took that charge, and we are continuing to advocate on behalf of others. But it doesn't stop their city of Providence. You have an amazing city. Make no mistake about it. Do you know that the city of Providence is the home for one of the best health care systems for our veterans on the planet, right on Charlottesville?
Speaker 3
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On the planet in this beautiful city, that's a testament to all of our taxpayers here. And on Westminster, right down the road a little ways, couple blocks down, is our benefit office. The gateway to our veterans to get access to the care that they've earned is through the regional office. They have over a 90% staff approval rating. These are the folks that charge to take care of our veterans and get them access to the benefits that they need.
Speaker 3
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Over 90% of their entire staff, 80% of their employees are veterans. Veterans serving veterans. And where are they where are they serving our veterans at? Right in our beautiful city. Thank you so much for the opportunity to provide brief remarks.
Speaker 3
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I look forward to what's next for our veterans. Well, we're gonna figure it out. Stay tuned, folks.
Speaker 0
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Thank you, director. As a director and as military, we tend to keep things very short and quick. Sometimes I I mix that with the politics and then so forth in in our community. So thank you for giving us that overview. And as we continue to charge here in the city of Providence through the work of the commission, the Special Commission on Veterans Affairs, and also through its member and meeting and and really highlighting the needs of our veterans, we were able to brainstorm and came up with a piece of an ordinance in the law that that was submitted at the state house and it was championed by senator Chacon and senator Jake Basilian in the the house side.
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It was representative was it Azanaro and representative Slater, to give our veterans a a an additional tax break on their property taxes, something that the city of Providence hadn't changed for over twenty years. And so through our efforts, thank you to the commission, and thank you for city council for working with us on that. Also wanna recognize that councilman John Gonsalves is also with us here. At this time, I also wanted to let everyone know that today is a very special time because not only we're hearing from those who serve the veterans in our community, but also we're gonna hear from someone that has lived a almost four decades in the military and has accomplished so much. We're gonna hear and recognize a marine who is dear to our community in the city of Providence and state of Rhode Island.
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We're gonna hear and recognize briefly from a gentleman that served in the Vietnam War and during those times of service in the city of Providence. And so at this time, I would like to call a very special person that has served with us in the Rhode Island, National Guard who has delivered an exceptional service to our state and to our nation. And we will hear from her just experience of how and why we come together at these times as we are moving into celebrating Veterans Day. We started off on Saturday with the director and all of the elected officials at the national level, at the federal level, which they send their regards from senator White House, senator Reid, congressman Seth Magasiner, and congressman Gabe Amo. And we continue this weekend to say thank you for your service, but we know that we continue to serve beyond just one day once we retire.
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So with that said, I'd like to bring forward our special, guest all the way from Woonsocket. She now that she's retired, she is also councilwoman, Sharon l Harmon, retired colonel. Thank you.
Speaker 4
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Okay. Let me get it together here. Alright. And I was just saying to someone just now, was like, why do we keep our messages on our phone instead of printing them off? Now if this phone die, I'm gonna be through.
Speaker 4
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Okay. So first of all, I would like to say good afternoon, everyone. Thanks, Lauren, for inviting me to be here with you all. As stated earlier, I'm Sharon Harmon from WoodSocket. First, let me say what an honor it is to stand before you today, a legacy of loyalty and service.
Speaker 4
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When I heard the word celebration for today, I smiled because let's be honest, the word celebration and the military don't always show up in the same sentence. It's usually we are told, be here on time at zero five hundred and wait to 10:00 to get the information you need and bring a cup of coffee with you. But today, it's different. Today, we're reporting for duty. We are we're gathered to honor it, to honor the service, sacrifice, and spirit that have kept our nation strong, free, and forever indebted to those who raised their right hand and said, send me.
Speaker 4
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As a veteran, I stand amongst giants, men and women from every branch, every era, every walk of life, united by one simple truth. We didn't serve because it was easy, we served because it mattered. When I first joined the military in 1985, I didn't have a grand plan. I was a young woman who had moved from Newbury, South Carolina to Woonsocket. And as I got to Woonsocket, I was looking for a challenge.
Speaker 4
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I was looking for a purpose, and I was looking for an extra paycheck, and maybe just a little adventure. And so my father who raised me always talked to me about the military because he wanted to join the military, any form of military. But since he had a medical condition, he couldn't join, and I decided I wanted to fulfill his dream. I found all these things that I was looking for in the military, plus some sand in places that still make me question my choices. But I also found something much deeper.
Speaker 4
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I found a second family. One that doesn't look at where you come from, but as how you show up. One that teaches you that leadership isn't about the rank on your chest. It's about the people behind you, beside you, and sometimes the ones that carry you through. Over nearly four decades, I served in a uniform.
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I went from a private one to a colonel, being the first African American to be promoted to a colonel in the Rhode Island National Guard. I've seen the best of what service can create, strength through adversity, born from conviction. And I've also learned that our service doesn't end when we hang up our uniform. I retired from the Rhode Island National Guard this past August, and I missed it already. I didn't stop serving, I just changed my mission.
Speaker 4
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Today, as a member of the Woonsocket City Council, I still carry the same commitment to duty and country, but now it focus right here in my own hometown. One of my top priorities in supporting veterans, making sure that every man and woman who served in who served is seen, heard, and valued long after their last formation. Because too often, our heroes come home only to feel invisible, and that's something that we can change altogether. A legacy of loyalty and service doesn't end on the battlefield. If it it lives in our neighborhoods, our city halls, our schools, and our families.
Speaker 4
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It's the Vietnam vets who still stand tall, very tall, during the national anthem. The young soldiers just who came home from deployment, trying to find their next purpose. The military spouse who keeps the fire burning, the Gold Star families who remind us what sacrifice truly means. To every veteran here today and to those who carry in our heart and to those who we carry in our heart, I say this, you are the reason this nation stands tall, not because of the matters you earn, but because of the example you set. You've proven that freedom is not just defended by might, it's preserved by character.
Speaker 4
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And the next generation listening, understand this service isn't about wearing camouflage. It's about showing up for something bigger than yourself, Whether that's in uniform, in a classroom, or in your community, we all have a role in this great story. You know, I often tell people that the army taught me three things. Never volunteer for anything without asking how long. Coffee is an essential access life source in the military, and no mission succeeds without teamwork.
Speaker 4
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Not in the field, not in government, and not in life. That's the beauty of the veteran spirit. We know how to adapt, overcome, and bring people together. We don't wait for perfect conditions. We make things happen.
Speaker 4
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So today, as we celebrate this legacy of loyalty and service, let us remember we are part of a living legacy. Our duty now is to carry that forward, to mentor, to serve, to build bridges, and to remind this nation what unity under common purpose truly looks like. May we continue to serve with loyalty, live with purpose, and lead with our hearts. God bless you all. God bless our veterans, and God bless The United States Of America.
Speaker 0
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Don't don't go too far. Thank you for your inspiration and your remarks and your example to not just only the military members, especially those who have just enlisted, those of us who've been retired to continue that flame of service, but also to the community and the families. And so I I would like to we would like to present to you, on behalf of our city council, a citation from our city council, be it hereby known to all that the Providence City Council from hereby offers its serious congratulations to wait. Got the wrong one here. There we go.
Speaker 0
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Oh, here we go. That's what happens. With the glasses. Right? Hereby offers a sincerest congratulations to colonel Sharon l Harmon in recognition of your forty years of dedicated and distinguished service to our state, to our nation, and for achieving a historic milestone as the first African American to attain the rank of colonel in the Rhode Island Army National Guard.
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Your remark your remarkable career stands as a testament to your leadership, perseverance, and commitment to excellence. Through your four decades of honorable service, you have broken barriers, inspired future generations, and exemplified the honorable service you have given us and the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. The city proudly joins in the in celebrating your achievement and in expressing deep gratitude for your contribution to the Rhode Island Army National Guard and to the greater community. Your legacy of courage, service, and trailblazing accomplishment will continue to inspire for generations to come. On behalf of our, leadership in the city of Providence, thank you very much.
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And council president. Thank you. As we continue, want to recognize that members in the military and veterans continue to give of themselves and inspire others. One of the person that over the years that I've met here in the city of Providence, State Of Rhode Island was a young man. He's still young so he says, but a lot of energy.
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One that was gives of himself post service through Progresso Latino as a leader raising funds to better our lives in the in Central Falls in the city of Providence. Going on and seeking guidance through the lord inspired to start a program here in the city of of Providence in 2011. And since then, he's been spreading the joy, the the love of the spirit of our blessed God and his heart. And so I would like to call to the podium a marine because we won't say as they say, when you're a marine, you're always a marine. I would like to call a leader and a founder of the Elijah Project.
Speaker 0
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As we hear the Elijah Project, there's not even one person probably in this room that have not heard that name if you live here in the city of Providence in the state of Rhode Island. And so I'd like to call George l Ortiz junior to receive a recognition from our capital city, the city of Providence, and our commissioner of veteran affairs. George. I just told them because I know marines and veterans. They don't wanna be recognized, but I always share with them, and I know the director shares with a lot of veterans.
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Your service, your commitment to continuing the mission needs to be continued to highlight, and we appreciate you in our capital city. And I know that you have our full support. And I know you didn't wanna be recognized as an individual, as an organization, but through your efforts and your story, continue to inspire all of us.
Speaker 5
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Thank you, sir.
Speaker 6
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You don't want me to speak now,
Speaker 0
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do you? First
Speaker 6
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of all, I wanna say, I'm just this has been a long journey. The first time that he called me to do this to me, I was 33 years old. I'm 55. So think about how many years that was, and I was I came with my two little sons. You remember that?
Speaker 6
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My wife stayed house. She was a senator, and I and I was embarrassed back then. I'm embarrassed right now, as as a matter of fact. But it does speak to I look across this room. I see all these veterans.
Speaker 6
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It makes me feel good. You don't see that much. Today, at our place, Home Depot filled 6,500 buckets for homeless veterans. Today. Right?
Speaker 6
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And as they were filling those buckets, the and the director Cassim was there last year. You were there last year. We're gonna do it again. The idea is that those buckets are gonna go into patrol cars from Massachusetts all the way to Rhode Island up to New Hampshire with the idea when you see a homeless veteran, instead of arresting them, you give them this bucket because they're in the street and they're cold. And we forget that sometimes even the active duty base Boston called us, and they need some food for the coast guard contractors who are missing their second paycheck.
Speaker 6
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So as veterans, it's embarrassing for us to go through that. The reason why this is near and dear to me is because when we came here in 2007, my wife and I, it only took us three years to lose our business, and we were walking the streets of Providence looking for food. And there was no help for us because of what we earned in previous years. So the idea of service for us, anybody that's been in the military, even these two officers here, they weren't making a ton of money. And depending on where you live, it's tough.
Speaker 6
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So we need to remember not only about the homeless veterans. You gotta remember about he's right about the I am a disabled vet, 70%. And that street, Chalkstone all the way around, has helped me for the last twenty years. So thank you for that. And remember your veterans because coming home is tough, and coming home and finding out that, you know, your family can't put food on the table, but you just risked your life overseas is a tough pill to swallow.