The Catawba County Veterans’ Treatment Court (VTC) hosted its sixth graduation ceremony on Friday, May 9, 2025, at the Catawba County Courthouse, recognizing the accomplishments of five more graduates.
The ceremony honoring the achievements of Derius Pearson (U.S. Army), Anthony Hatton (U.S. Army), Jahnel Ford (U.S. Army), Bryan Warren (U.S. Army) and Melissa Swift (U.S. Army) took place in a courtroom with elected officials, community dignitaries, veterans and other participants of the Catawba VTC in attendance.
The VTC graduates were joined during the ceremony by their mentors, Todd Gauvin, Steve Migielicz, Stephanie Griffiths and Melissa Mace.
The guest speaker for the VTC graduation was North Carolina Speaker of the House Destin Hall, and retired U.S. Army Colonel John Dethlefs was the mentor speaker for the program.
Closing remarks were provided by 36th Prosecutorial District Attorney Scott Reilly, who told the graduates how proud program representatives for the Catawba VTC were of each of them while noting that their battle is not over. He encouraged them to move forward and make a difference.
Catawba County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jeff Kuykendall also received recognition during the ceremony for his work as a bailiff for the Veterans’ Treatment Court.
The first Veterans’ Treatment Court session in Catawba County took place on May 13, 2021, following an April 29 kickoff that same year, and has been offered every other Thursday since that time.
Catawba – with a population of nearly 10,000 veteran residents – was just the fifth county in the state to have a treatment court for veterans, joining Buncombe, Cumberland, Forsyth and Harnett counties in providing such assistance to veterans who have cases in the court system. Since then, nearby Gaston and Iredell counties also have established treatment courts for their veteran populations.