Henry County Outstanding Military Veteran Award and Veterans Day

The Board of Supervisors created the Outstanding Military Veteran Award in 2009 at the suggestion of Horsepasture District Supervisor Debra Buchanan, and expanded it in 2013 with the Martinsville City Council so that veterans of both localities can be nominated. The award goes to the nominee the selection committee judges to best represent what service to country and community means. For 2026, nominations close at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 26, through the county's online form or a printed form delivered to the City Manager's Office or the County Administrator's Office (276-634-4601). The award is presented at the community's Veterans Day ceremony; in 2025 that was 11 a.m. on November 11 at the Historic John D. Bassett Event Center, after a Walk in the Park at Jack Dalton Park on November 8. Veterans Day itself is a county holiday. Recent recipients are listed on the county's page, John Rehder for 2025. Related county recognition in the year: on May 26, 2026 the Board named the Veterans Honor Guard of Martinsville and Henry County a Community Connected Citizen Award recipient and granted it $5,000 from the Horsepasture District impact fund for the honor guard's expenses. On June 23, 2026, at the request of All Vets, a local nonprofit whose mission honors fallen military, the Board approved supporting a resolution to the Commonwealth Transportation Board under Code section 33.2-213 to designate Kings Mountain Road as the Henry County Veterans Highway; if the Board approves, the county bears the cost of the signs. All Vets cites Census figures of 3,813 veterans in Henry County, 7.7% of its population.