The men and women, who came from all over North Carolina and several adjacent states, were able to choose a quilt from more than 80 on display. Following the presentation ceremony, guild members wrote the name of each recipient on their quilt, wrapped them in their quilt and thanked them for their service, sacrifice and valor. About one third of the Guard’s members have been deployed overseas, some with multiple deployments.  Another 30 members are currently in Afghanistan and will return in the spring, when they will receive their quilt. The national Quilts of Valor Foundation was started by Catherine Roberts when she made a quilt for her son after he was deployed to Iraq. She decided the next step was to get a group of friends together to make quilts for other people in his unit, eventually expanding the foundation to the worldwide movement it is today. 

The Western North Carolina group is approaching the 400-quilt mark and has around 25 participants.