St. Pete’s yearly Veterans Day Celebration will return for the 9th year in a row at Williams Park. Mayor Ken Welch will celebrate Veterans Day by honoring veterans and presenting the Honored Veteran Award to one or more outstanding local veterans. 

Veterans Day Celebration
Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 a.m.
Williams Park Veterans Memorial
350 2nd Ave. N.

This year’s Honored Veteran Awards will be presented to:

John Green
John E. Green joined the United States Coast Guard in 1986 where he served as Aviation Survival Technician First Class. In 2008, after 22 years of service to the United States Coast Guard, Green retired

In July 2000, Green played a key role in a night rescue effort saving all 51 crew members aboard a burning oil rig.

Green has been recognized for his extraordinary valor, selflessness and heroism and he and three other United States Coast Guard members were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross - the highest award for aviation heroism in a non-combat situation. Their accomplishments were entered into the Congressional Record by Former United States Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA).

Pat Mack
Pat Mack grew up in St. Pete's southside and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1987. During his 24 years of serving in the United States Navy, Mack was the recipient of numerous military awards, including the Bronze Star.

After earning his master’s degree in computer science, Mack spent the last 15 years of his 24-year naval career as an officer tasked with building and purchasing software for the Navy. Following his retirement from the United States Navy in 2011, Mack founded PVM in San Diego, a software engineering company focused on solving problems through data analytics, typically in public service sectors. PVM became a CDC partner in 2015, and Mack said he applied information synthesis techniques he learned in the Navy to the public health workflow.

PVM, now based in the new Maritime and Defense Technology Hub in the city’s Innovation District, boasts around 50 employees - with the last three hires also St. Pete natives – a number he expects will continue increasing. He is also intent on giving back to the city that raised him, especially its minority and underserved communities.

Past award recipients:

• 2021: Sidney "Sid" Boyd Vaughn, Jr., Antonio “Tony” Sanpere, and Cathrine Washington
• 2020: Dr. Harold William "Bill" Heller and James "Jim" Nixon
• 2019: Geoff Barker
• 2018: Maxine Cardinal Wehry
• 2017: Carrie W. Nero and Charles Claybaker
• 2016: Michael Jernigan
• 2015: Willie Rodgers
• 2014: Herbert Polson

Any questions, contact Erica V. Riggins, City Public Information Officer Director, at Erica.Riggins@stpete.org or 727-892-5896.