Ogden Golden Veterans President Jean George told the Standard-Examiner that the group — which meets every Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Golden Hours Senior Center in Ogden — is a great cross-section of those who have served in the military with about 20-25 regular attendees.

“It’s a group of veterans and we have all branches except for the Space Force — we keep looking for one but we don’t have anybody in this area that’s Space Force,” she said. “We have Seabees, we have Marines, we have Air Force, a lot of mechanics  and we have nurses — you name it, just about any position from the military is there.”

She said that the group is open to people who are currently enlisted as well as veterans and their spouses/significant others and widows/widowers of vets.

George said the group has seen some changes since she joined in 2023 as the widow of an Army veteran.

“You went to a meeting, you just sat there; they very rarely had a speaker or anything going on — it was just a BS session,” she said. “I said, ‘No, no, that’s a waste of time for everybody,’ so I started bringing in other veterans and organizations that do things that would apply to the veterans.”

She said that she’s brought in several guest speakers including chaplains, Air Force brass and others who are willing to speak to vets and talk about their experiences in the military.

“Lately I’ve been asking the members if they would stand up and take 10-15 minutes and tell about their own experiences,” she said. “That’s been really interesting because you get to really know these people a little bit better after you know that they served in Iraq, or Croatia or somewhere like that. It’s been really neat.”

George said the group also has occasional potluck dinners and a regular Friday morning breakfast at Denny’s in Riverdale. Joining the group is free, though a voluntary $5 donation is sought each month from members to cover the cost of coffee and donuts. The group also participates in area parades, philanthropy and honor guards.

“It’s a great group,” she said. “We just do a lot of fun stuff.”