REAL Exclusive Magazine

Janet Hamel Solomon To Honor Honor ALL Who Have Served.

Veterans chose Sarasota’s veteran daughter Janet Hamel Solomon as the speaker for this year’s Memorial Day gathering in Sarasota. The parade begins at Main Street Monday, May 30th, at 10am and the brief program takes place at 11am at the bay front park named in honor of Hamel Solomon ‘s father, Chaplain Dr. J.D. “Bud” Hamel.

Hamel Solomon will be thanking all who have given their all, and in a rare moment of sacrifice, will play a small chorus on flute. Jan suffered brain stem and facial nerve damage in a foiled Colombian kidnapping while she and her husband (U.S. Coast Guard Master Captain Rev. Tim Solomon) were serving as Christian missionaries and relief workers in 1989.
 
Hamel Solomon and her family have offered the invocation and benediction at official city and county events for over 50 years, but this is the first time she has been asked to honor the memory of veterans in this way, and plans to include the memory one man in particular-her father, known simply as “Bud” since 1960, as the “Town Chaplain” officially serving city police, county sheriff, Florida Fire, hospital, and veterans. So dearly loved was Bud that the city of Sarasota closed down Fruitville Road for his funeral procession. May he and all who have served rest in peace, as we pray for peace on this side of eternity.
 
Although Jan was once a professional flutist trained in our own symphony program locally, this gift now comes with tremendous pain. Jan believes that, “These men and women have given their all. I can give back this small gift to show them how grateful we are. For example, if our troops had not set foot on the beaches of Normandy, would we be able to freely enjoy our beaches today? The sacrifices of our troops are beyond words-for this reason, I want to thank them in the way I best can, by doing something that is a sacrifice for me. Even if it is just a few bars of one tune on a flute, the veterans will understand the deep meaning of this gift.