AG, SEA visit VDF, 29th Band at Apple Blossom Festival - May 2, 2015

Brig. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alan M. Ferris, Senior Enlisted Advisor for the Virginia National Guard, visit members of the Virginia Defense Force and the 29th Division Band May 2, 2015, at the 88th Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Va. The visit included a stop at the Timbrook Public Safety Building where the Winchester Police Department and other public safety officials, including a VDF liaison officer, monitored festival activities. Members of the VDF volunteered their time to operate more than 50 traffic control points during the 10K race and Grand Feature Parade, and Soldiers from the 29th Division Band marched in the parade.

The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is a series of more than thirty events held from April 24 to May 3 in Winchester and Frederick County including band competitions, dances, parades and a 10K Race. Crowds in excess of 250,000 attend the Festival each year.

The VDF is an all-volunteer force authorized by the Code of Virginia and organized under the Virginia Department of Military Affairs reporting to the Adjutant General of Virginia. The members of the VDF volunteer their time for training and are only paid when called to state active duty by an authorization from the Governor of Virginia.