Canyon Lake Quilters Club presents quilt to honor local serviceman

BY Aprile McKinnon

The Quilters Club of Canyon Lake, which meets monthly to make quilts for deserving members of the military, presented this month’s quilt to Petty Officer Adam McNaughten. Adam received the quilt with his family surrounding him and the women who were part of making the quilt present.

Adam, a Canyon Lake resident since 2004, is the son of Kelly Welty of Canyon Lake and Todd McNaughton of Hemet. He is the stepson of Dale Welty who current;y serves on the Canyon Lake City Council.

Adam is highly skilled, dedicated and responsible for the operations and maintenance of the nuclear power plants aboard aircraft carriers. He is currently stationed on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego.

The Quilters Club of Canyon Lake makes quilts for active and retired military members. The club meets at the Canyon Lake Senior Center on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Members of the Canyon Lake Quilters Club surround Petty Officer Adam McNaughten, his wife Harmony McNaughten, daughter Cambria McNaughten, 3, and son Hudson McNaughten, 1, behind the patriotic quilt they presented to him. The club creates the quilts to honor local members of the military past or present. Photo by Aprile DeAnne McKinnon

This group of women get together at the senior center where they work on various quilting projects with patriotic themed quilts. These quilts take lots of dedication, time, materials and love as they are made for those who serve or have served the country and are nominated to receive them from the community.

Adam first enlisted in the Navy in 2011. He pursued higher education and earned his Bachelor‘s Degree from San Diego State University in applied nuclear engineering technology in 2013. Adam has been deployed four times and was awarded the Commendation Medal in 2021. Adam has spoken at the City Veterans Day Ceremony.

Despite his notable accomplishments, Adam continued to express gratitude and remained humble throughout the event.

“I can think of 8,000 other people who I work with who probably deserve this more than I do,” Adam said. “I really appreciate that you all thought of me.”

The event concluded with a lunch served for all in attendance and a beautiful patriotic cake was served for dessert.

“Sewing and quilting are our passions,” Rhonda McCord, one of the quilters, said. “To be able to use our talents to honor and thank a member of the military is truly a blessing.”