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November 2024



For Veterans Day 2024 there was a trifecta of events:
  • An event hosted by our church Homeschoolers
  • A Veterans Concert at Bloomingdale Senior High School, and
  • The "stand up and be recognized" part of Veterans recognition at the Fellowship Baptist Church (FBC) Sunday Service.

On Friday, Novenmber 8, at Fellowship Baptist Church in the Welcome Center, there was a program for veterans hosted by the church's homeschoolers. Joyce and I attended. There were two performances by the kids; one by the middle schoolers and one by the high schoolers. The homeschoolers served brunch. I brought in three MRE packets and had some mixed up in the kitchen. The heated entrees were dumped onto three plates. I also provided 60+ plastic spoons and a cardboard box. "Try a spoonful of each. Then toss your used spoon in the box and get a new spoon for another taste of something" (No double dipping). and let all the kids sample them. The consensus was they tasted good, but I had to point out that they don’t taste good after 40 days straight. I had also stopped by the local Army Recruiting Center and talked nice. I left with 75 Army pens and 25 Army lanyards that I gave away during the program. They were well-received. Summary: A very, very nice program today. The name tags, the table settings, the Opening Ceremony, the two performances by the homeschoolers, the readings that recognized each Vet, the kids getting us drinks and bringing us trays of delicious food, the thank-you cards from the kids, and the gift packages. It was a first class event. Many thanks to the homeschool families who made the morning so successful.

    It's a Small, Small World

    There were around 45 veterans at the program, each who came with one guest; and there were about 70 homeschool parents and their children.

    There were eight tables set up for veterans and their guests; and each table sat 6 to 8 people.

    At our table, there were two other couples; at out table the men were Army veterans. One of the men was John. I asked him where and when he had served in the Army.

    He said that he had served in the Army from 1968 to 1971 in Kaiserslautern, Germany. I replied, "Oh, I was there."

    I asked him what unit he had served with. He replied, "24th Engineer Group." I said that I was with that Group. "Were you assigned to Headquarters Company?"

    He said, "No, I was with the 370th Engineer Company."

    It turned out that he had just left the company before I arrived to command it.

    Yep; pretty small world.

That evening I attended a Veterans Concert at Bloomingdale High School where granddaughter Daylin is in the Chamber Orchestra and grandson Braden is in the Band. The program included the presentation of covers by the Air Force JROTC; the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem; the posting of the colors; patriotic songs by two of the high school choirs; and patriotic music by the Chamber Orchestra, the jazz band the wind dissemble. Of course, I liked the Armed Forces Salute music where veterans stand when their service song is played. And the program closed with the song America the Beautiful by the combined ensembles and retiring of the covers by the Air Force JROTC. There was also the collection of voluntary contributions for the Baldomero Lopez State Veteran's Nursing Home. A really good program that I enjoyed greatly.

And during the regular Sunday service, veterans were asked to stand and be recognized. Always appreciated. For all three events I wore a polo shirt with the US Army logo.


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Veterans Luncheon Pics



       





       


Veterans Concert Pics





   







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