The USO North Carolina wants to make its presence known in Elizabeth City and it’s doing so in a pretty big way. When the Aug. 5 Coast Guard Week Harbor Nights kicks off at Waterfront Park, rising country music star Ashton Shepherd will be taking the stage.

“She’s had a new album that was released July 12. Has gotten great reviews in Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and the Washington Post and she was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last Friday,” says Jennifer Palestrant, director the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Palestrant has been working with the president and CEO of USO North Carolina John Falkenbury to bring not only great entertainment to the area for the sake of our Coast Guard members, but also other military members who call River City home.

“The last few years we’ve worked to give Coasties here a chance to take advantage of opportunities,” says the USO’s Falkenbury. “They’re close to Norfolk (Virginia) and get left out of the picture, so we want to make sure they get USO opportunities.”

Last year, during the Coast Guard Day event at the base in Elizabeth City, the USO made an appearance with its mobile unit; an RV converted to provide services to military men and women. Palestrant was aware of their presence here and was eventually invited to lunch by now retried Capt. Carol Bennett to talk about the 70th anniversary of USO North Carolina — that’s happening this year — the oldest existing USO organization in the nation.

“Of course we have a lot of retirees here in the northeast and plus we have the largest Coast Guard base in the nation,” says Palestrant. “We have a big enough military footprint here that the USO wanted to embrace us and do things for us.”

And do they are. You might say that they are making their presence known with the Ashton Shepherd concert.

“People that like country and country crossover music know her well,” says Palestrant. “She has great stage presence.”

On Friday, Aug. 5, Waterfront Park will open up the gates at 5 p.m. for the free concert. The stretch of Water Street fronting the park will be closed to traffic. Food vendors and a beer garden will be set up that evening.

Palestrant says that if the concert is a big hit, she’s confident the park, the closed road and the green at Museum of the Albemarle can accommodate folks.

“We’ve definitely put several thousand people in that park,” she says.

The event will kick off with a yet-to-be-named opening act, followed by several ceremonies before Shepherd takes the stage at 7:30 p.m.

This is, Palestrant says, the biggest concert they’ve done at Waterfront Park so far. And it will likely not be the last concert done there in conjunction with the USO.

Palestrant says that locally we do not have the resources to bring in acts this big. She says it’s only through cooperation with the USO North Carolina that Shepherd can take the stage here.

Next year, Palestrant says, could be even bigger, but that does remain to be seen for now.

“We could be looking at Grammy Award winning acts in the future,” says Palestrant. “The potential is there.”

The potential is also here for men and woman serving in the military, living in this area, to receive assistance through the USO. Although many equate the USO with entertainment, their mission is far more involved than sending comedians into war zones for the sake of morale.

“We’re known for that, but we are so much more,” says Falkenbury.

The USO works with service members and their families to help make deployment and homecoming a more positive experience. At deployments, for example, they might provide the use of the mobile unit, affording service members the opportunity to enjoy the facilities while waiting to leave for their next assignments.

At airports around the state, the USO provides centers for service members and their families. Overall, they work to make life more comfortable for them.

One of the newer programs being prepared for launch, according to Falkenbury, is a reading and study skill initiative. They are programs to help the children of service members work on their academic skills.

“We know that with multiple deployments, the grades are suffering,” says Falkenbury. “My goal is to do it in nine locations around the year.”

That would include, he says, Elizabeth City.

They are also looking at establishing satellite locations across the state at various university and college campuses. Falkenbury says he is not certain whether or not a facility will be on hand at Elizabeth City State University in the future, but it is possible.

“It costs money to do that and you have to find sponsors to put up the money,” Falkenbury says.

In the meantime, the USO North Carolina will make its presence known with the Ashton Shepherd concert Aug. 5. And anyone, says Falkenbury, looking for more information can go to www.uso-nc.org.