Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Kaden Haase reads orders for retiring the colors, as the scouts salute and FFA advisor Erica Whitmore looks on.
Nathan Carstensen reads orders for presenting them.
FFA program presenters, left to right: Nick Nelson, Kim Nelson, Elena Hernandez, Alexis Burdick, Rebekah Marshall, Amanda Hardt.
Staff reports
Quite a few veterans, along with families and friends, turned out for the annual Veterans Day dinner held at the VFW hall in Odessa. Turkey and stuffing, potatoes and gravy were provided by the women of the Ladies Auxiliary, and guests were asked to provide a potluck salad or dessert.
Lloyd Tebow was the featured speaker, assisted by son-in-law Alan Voise. Tebow and Voise flew to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. on an Honor Flight in September (see story in the October 6, 2011 issue of The Odessa Record).
Post Commander Bill Nixon and Quartermaster Adjutant John Hardt also distributed continuous membership awards which went to veterans who have been members for terms as short as 5 years and as long as 65 years.
At the end of the program, Nixon and Hardt demonstrated the ceremonial folding of the American flag, as Auxiliary President Leora Nixon read the symbolism for each fold in the process.
A rousing rendition of “God Bless America” finished off the evening.
Veterans Day assembly
Members of the Odessa High School chapter of FFA were responsible for presenting a special Veterans Day program for the entire student body.
Unlike prior years, when the veterans themselves made up the color guard and participated in the program, this year the veterans were simply honored guests. Special seating was available to them, but they didn’t have to work for it.
The boys in Cub Scout Pack #784 presented the colors, with Keith Strebeck and Pilot Weishaar as the flag bearers. The other scouts marched into the hall behind the flags and then saluted them as commanded by their presentation leader Nathan Carstensen. The scouts then took their seats for the program. At its conclusion, they again formed ranks to retire the flags, this time under the direction of their member Kaden Haase.
The program presented by the FFA members was varied, with presentation of the flags of all the military services, readings by individual students and the FFA advisor Erica Whitmore, as well as a video released by the Veterans Administration. Even the youngest Kindergarten-aged children were kept engaged throughout the program.
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