A crowd of approximately 50 people attended the Veteran’s Day ceremony at Grand Rapids Community College Friday morning. The event featured three speakers and began with the national anthem.
The first speaker was Jason Shuler, a member of the Veteran’s Success team at GRCC.
“The reason we are here today is to say thank you to all our veterans and current military service members for serving our country and protecting our freedom,” Shuler said.
President Ender spoke next for several minutes about the importance of Veteran’s day and unity as a country..
“We are taking a moment today along with the rest of the country to reflect on why we share these great liberties,” Ender said. “I will tell you there is so much in my life to be grateful for but as I observe the world around us, I am literally more and more grateful that I live in a country that can be terribly divided but at the end of the day always come together for the goodness of our country.”
The featured speaker was veteran Denny Gillem, LTC, U.S. Army. His message along with the other speakers was one of coming together as a country to care for our democracy and to thank our country’s veterans.
“I really appreciate GRCC for many reasons,” Gillem said. “But today on Veteran’s Day, it’s important that we stop and take a good look at who we are and what we are and what we stand for. It’s never inappropriate to recognize honor and say thank you to people who put their lives on the line for you.”
The ceremony concluded with the reading of a poem and a flag placing ceremony behind the podium.
Janice Holton, GRCC’s Veterans Service Coordinator, said she was moved by the ceremony.
“I thought it went very well, very emotional,” Holton said. “The singing of the national anthem, this is the first year we have done that.”
