Clark State College will host a series of events through Nov. 8, and all community members are invited to each event. This week kicked off with hundreds of American flags placed on all college campuses on Monday.
A Veterans Resource Fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at Clark State’s Beavercreek campus. The fair will include resources from local organizations such as VA medical facilities, VFWs and more, as well as information for Clark State’s veteran students and employees.
Veterans and basketball fans are then invited to the Clark State Eagles’ “Veterans Appreciation Games” against the Cedarville Yellow Jackets on Thursday. Veterans receive free admission to both games, with the women’s game beginning at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s game at 7:30 p.m.
Throughout the week, veterans can visit the Veterans Lounge in Rhodes Hall to receive a free meal voucher from Fresh Abilities. The library will have a book display, an exhibit of military uniforms, a World War II art display of illustrator George Withers, and a Veterans Recognition Wall honoring Clark State faculty, staff and students.
Other activities planned in the two-county area include:
The Champaign Family YMCA will host its ninth annual Veterans Appreciation Breakfast to honor local veterans from 8-11 a.m. Thursday.
The breakfast includes scrambled eggs, sausage donated by Oakview Farms Meats, the Y’s famous pancakes prepared by YMCA staff and volunteers, and other foods donated by local farms and businesses.
In addition to food, the Y’s preschool classes will sing patriotic songs and lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.
This year’s featured veteran is YMCA member Pat Hayes, who served in the Marines from 1961-66 and received a Vietnam War service medal for his service as a sharpshooter.
All area veterans, their families, and families of veterans who have passed away, are invited to attend. For more information, call the YMCA at 937-653-9622 or stop by the Y’s Welcome Center at 191 Community Drive in Urbana.
Shawnee Middle and High School students and staff will place flags on the front lawn of the middle and high school on Friday to create a “Field of Flags” as a tribute to the men and women who have served and continue to serve.
Students and staff purchased American flags for $1 to represent a veteran or active service member in their life. There have been 450 flags purchased and the names of the veterans are displayed in the lobby of the middle and high school.
All flags have been donated and all proceeds from this project will be given to Honor Flight Dayton, which provides “a trip of a lifetime” to eligible veterans flying them to Washington D.C., free of charge to see their war memorials.
The Champaign County Veterans Service Office will host a Veteran Walk at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Urbana VFW.
This walk is to bring awareness to end veterans suicide and mental health crisis among veterans.
For more information, contact the VSO office of Champaign County.
Ferncliff Cemetery will host the annual Veterans Day Program at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11, at War Memorial Park.
This event includes a short address by LTC Josh Harris of the Ohio National Guard, Springfield High School choir singing the national anthem, posting of colors and the playing of TAPS by the local Marine Corps League Detachment 963, and a roll call of all the veterans who have been interred in Ferncliff in the past year.
Reservations are not required, and the event is open to the public. Coffee and doughnuts will be provided, but seats will not. You are welcome to bring your own lawn chairs.
The Lagonda Chapter of the DAR in Springfield is having a flag ceremony at 10 a.m. on Veterans Day, Monday, at the Pennsylvania House, 1311 W. Main St.
This is a flag that has previously flown over the Continental Congress in Washington that the chapter was given in a grant. The ROTC from Tecumseh school under Major Doug Couch will perform the ceremony.
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