Gov. Rick Scott dropped by a quilt show Monday while he was at the Eisenhower Recreation Center.
Beth Bender, president of the Quilting Guild in The Villages, along with vice president Pat Joho, plus Barb Dunn and Chris Loffler, were enjoying a steady flow of visitors who stopped by their large exhibit of “Honor Flight Quilts” on display in the Admiral Halsey Room at the Eisenhower Regional Recreation Center.
“We’re getting an overflow from the other room,” Bender said, referring to the hundreds of veterans on hand in the rec center’s theater, where the governor led a ceremony honoring military veterans.
Then the governor stopped by to personally admire the quilts.
“This is just a small smattering of all the quilts we have on hand. These are for our Honor Flight honorees who will travel to Washington DC in May and September of this year,” Bender continued. “Villagers in general, and the ladies in our quilting groups, love American veterans — and we want to make sure all of them are kept warm as they travel.”
While temperatures were seasonably warm in The Villages, The March Villages Honor Flight encountered cold, rainy weather in our nation’s Capital, and the quilts came in really handy.
Retired Army Chaplain, Lt. Col. Don Doggett, who lives in Palo Alto Village with his wife, Mary, gave the invocation at Gov. Scott’s event. They then walked over to admire the quilt collection. Col. Doggett spent 22 years in the Army, with two tours of duty in Vietnam and three years in Germany. They also lived in Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, New Jersey and Texas.
“This is amazing handiwork,” Don said as he observed the intricate stitches. “These are truly beautiful — and so creative — all different designs and ideas.” “So much work goes into these quilts, his wife, Mary, said. “A lot of love goes into them too.”
A Villages resident since 1996, Don attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. “Before you can become a military chaplain, ” he explained, “you must have civilian experience pastoring.” He also has  played and sung with the Still Kickin” Bluegrass Band all over The Villages — several times at Church on the Square, at Brownwood, and at the Savannah Center, where the band opened for well known blue grass artist Rhonda Vincent.
