About this Event
About This Event:
The Civic Engagement and… panel series continues in November with Civic Engagement and Honoring Veterans. This discussion will focus on how we honor and commemorate the military and civic service of veterans and military families. Veterans consistently demonstrate high levels of civic engagement beyond their military service. Research indicates they show higher participation rates in voting, volunteering and advocacy than non-veterans. Our panelists will discuss public awareness of the contributions and needs of veterans, trends in public commemoration and memorials, and the role that veterans play in our civic life.
This panel will feature:
· Director Kasim Yarn, Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services
· George Farrell, RI Fire Chiefs Hub
· Loren Spears, Executive Director of Tomaquag Museum
Join us on Monday, November 17 from 5 – 6:30 p.m. in the Rhode Island State Library. This event continues the Department of State’s Civic Engagement and… panel series. This is an ongoing series with an overarching goal to highlight individuals who use their time and talent to create space for others to be civically engaged in unique ways.
Meet the Panelists:
Kasim Yarn
Kasim J. Yarn was appointed the first Director of Veterans Services for the State of Rhode Island in 2016 after 20 years of faithful service to our nation. Kasim enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Jackson, Mississippi, the day after graduating high school. His first duty station was in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, which began his lifelong love affair with New England. Kasim is a Boston University graduate and a commissioned naval officer who was deployed in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf with the Navy’s Sixth and Fifth Fleets. After his assignments at sea, Kasim became an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School at Naval Station Newport. He earned a Master’s in National Strategic Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. Kasim and his family made Rhode Island and North Kingstown their permanent home.
Director Yarn is a key advisor to Governor Dan McKee and, as a member of the Governor’s cabinet, helped lead the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He ensures Rhode Island Veterans, active duty, guard and reserve, and military families are safe, healthy, and able to reach their maximum potential. In 2025, Director Yarn received an Honorary Doctorate in International Relations from Salve Regina University for his distinguished military service and dedication to supporting Veterans.
George Farrell
George Farrell retired as Chief of Department from Providence Fire Department in June 2011 with 32 years of combined public safety experience. 31 years with Providence Fire Department and one year as the RI State Fire Marshal.
He founded the Rhode Island Fire Chiefs Honor Flight Hub in August 2012 and has been Chairman of the Board for RIFC Honor Flight Hub for the past 13 years. Since the first Honor Flight in November 2012, he has organized and safely led 33 Honor Flights to Washington, DC taking over 1000 veterans to visit and reflect at those memorials built to Honor their service and sacrifice.
Loren Spears
Lorén M. Spears, enrolled Narragansett Tribal Nation citizen and Executive Director of Tomaquag Museum, holds a master’s in education and received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa in 2017, from the University of Rhode Island and Doctor of Education, Honoris Causa from Roger Williams University in 2021. She is an author, artist and shares her cultural knowledge with the public through museum programs. She has contributed to a variety of publications such as Dawnland Voices, An Anthology of Indigenous Writing of New England; Through Our Eyes: An Indigenous View of Mashapaug Pond; From Slaves to Soldiers: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment in the American Revolution; and Repair: Sustainable Design Futures. Spears co-edited a new edition of A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams; and recently co-authored “As We Have Always Done: Decolonizing the Tomaquag Museum’s Collections Management Policy" published in the Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals. Under her leadership Tomaquag Museum received the Institute of Museums and Library Service's National Medal in 2016 and she has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including induction into the RI Heritage Hall of Fame this year.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Rhode Island State Library, 82 Smith Street, Providence, United States
USD 0.00
