MARYSVILLE — After taking some time off, the “Take a Vet to Lunch” program made its return to Marysville.

Nov. 16 marked the first such event for 2011, which drew 16 veterans and their guests to the Cedarcrest Golf Course restaurant for a shared meal and some conversations about their experiences in the service.

For event organizer and Vietnam veteran Bob Rawe, it began in 2008 when he started inviting veterans, half a dozen at a time, to free lunches in his home held every two weeks.

The first official “Take a Vet to Lunch” at the Arlington Assembly of God Church that year drew close to 100 veterans and just as many civilians, with the civilians sponsoring the veterans’ meals.

“I could always use more volunteers to find me more veterans, so that I could contact them and invite them to these lunches,” Rawe said. “Of course, we could always use more money too, even with restaurants offering us meals at reduced prices.”

Rawe is currently in the process of contacting several community and business organizations to try and raise as much as $4,600, which he estimates would cover his expenses not only for the meals themselves, but also for the “Take a Vet to Lunch” dog-tag keychains that he hands out to event attendees.

For more information, log onto the “Take a Vet to Lunch” Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Take-a-Vet-to-Lunch or its blog at http://www.takeavettolunch.us.