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GATESVILLE – The public is invited to recognize the service of our nation’s military veterans, past and present, during an 11 a.m. event on Saturday, Nov. 11 in the courtroom of the historic county courthouse.

The featured speaker will be Margaret Ann Bays Tankovich, Colonel, Retired, United States Army.

All are welcome.

Born in Elizabeth City, Colonel Tankovich was an “Army Brat” whose father retired when she was in high school and the family returned to Gates County. Upon completion of a student officer program and graduation from East Carolina University, Colonel Tankovich received a direct commission in the U.S. Army as a WAC officer and subsequently became a member of the Quartermaster Corps.

She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in French from East Carolina University and has done post graduate work in French at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Fordham University.

Colonel Tankovich’s military education includes the WAC Officer Basic Course, the Quartermaster Advanced Course, the Defense Language Institute German Course, The Army Command and General Staff College, and the United States Naval War College.

Colonel Tankovich has had assignments at US Army Europe (USAREUR) Headquarters, working with German counterparts in Host Nation Activities, and as a Liaison Officer to the French forces during major joint and combined exercises in Europe.

Her numerous logistics assignments culminated in her most recent prior assignments where she served as Deputy Commander of the Support Operations Center of the 310 Theater Support Command (TSC) at Fort Belvoir, VA and finally as Commander of the 700-member Joint Reserve Unit at Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, VA.

Colonel Tankovich has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, The Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, The Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with hourglass device, and the National Defense Service Medal.

In 2018, Colonel Tankovich was inducted as a Distinguished member of the United States Army Quartermaster Corps.

Since retiring from the Army, Colonel Tankovich and her husband Jim, a retired Army Officer, have lived in Smithfield, VA. They have two daughters, Catherine Breed and Elizabeth Ressler. Catherine lives in Decatur, GA with her husband, Brennan, and their two children, Freddie and Margaret Ann. Elizabeth and her husband, Sheldon, are stationed in Germany, and they also have two children, Scarlett and Hayden.