|
 Before
the event officially kicked off, group photos of all the veterans
present from each branch were taken. This started with the Army,
then Navy, followed by the Air Force, then the Marines, and finally
the Coast Guard. Unfortunately, no one in attendance was from the
Coast Guard.
The event started shortly after 5 p.m. with Lincoln
Mayor, emcee for the night, and a veteran himself, Tracy Welch
taking the microphone. He started off by thanking everyone for
coming and sharing a bit of history of this particular Veterans Day
celebration. Welch shared that in 2002, a group of youths from St.
John UCC started this celebration. In 2013, it was taken over by
some adult members of the church who helped turn it into a catered
event.
After Welch’s remarks, Leland Semple, the St. John
UCC Church Council President took the stage to make some remarks as
well. This was followed by the Brass Trio playing “America the
Beautiful.” The Brass Trio is a group that consists of Calob Pluhm,
Austin Garriott, and Jean Webb. The group was accompanied by Laura
Lee on keyboard.
The presentation of colors was next, with Lincoln Veteran Gene
Hickey bringing the American Flag to the front. Everyone then stood
and said the Pledge of Allegiance. Rev. David Marquardt, Bridge
Pastor at St. John UCC then gave the invocation.
Dinner was served after the invocation, which was
made by Nick Bay of Lincoln Land Catering. Lincoln Boy Scout Troop
1102 was on hand to act as the servers of the night. They ran food
to everyone in attendance and helped pick up plates once people were
done with them.
Once everyone had been served, but before everyone was done eating,
the night’s entertainment took center stage. This consisted of songs
sung by Austin Garriott, Silas Tockey, and Calob Pluhm. The
entertainment was broken into two segments, with the singers each
performing one song per segment. In the first part, Garriott sang
“Pure Imagination,” Tockey sang “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and Pluhm
sang “Heal the World” whilst playing a guitar.
In the second segment, Pluhm once again played guitar
while singing “One Heart, One Voice.” Garriott sang “Anthem,” and
Tockey sang “God Bless the USA.” Lee accompanied Tockey and Garriott
in both segments.
Between the two segments of entertainment, the
anthems of each branch of the military were played. While the anthem
was played, the veterans who served in that particular branch were
asked to stand if they were able.
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After this was the mail call. Gift bags were
presented to every veteran in the room. Among the items in these
gift bags were a colored picture by the students in District 27
Elementary Schools. These schools included Adams, Central,
Northwest, and Washington-Monroe. The boy scouts brought the gift
bags to each veteran as their names were called.
Once the entertainment wrapped up, Jan Jeffries,
Chair of the Veterans Ministry at St. John UCC, got up to present
certificates of appreciation to a couple of the veterans in
attendance. These veterans were Michelle Ramlow and Bill Dennis.
Jeffries also shared that a donation to Hope on 5th was being made
in honor of the late Joe Schaler.
This was followed by a moment of silence to remember
those who have passed away since last year’s Veterans Celebration.
After a brief moment, the song “On Eagle’s Wings” was performed by
the St. John Chimers.
Door prizes were handed out next. These included many
gift cards donated by local businesses, and several candy baskets.
The first to go were the veterans with red tickets, followed by
their guests with green tickets. Orange tickets were called at the
end. The Boy Scouts ran these prizes to the award winners.
To round out the night, “For Love of Country" was played by the
Brass Trio, followed shortly by a benediction once again led by Rev.
Marquardt. Welch was also sure to thank each and every sponsor of
the night.
The sponsors included Lincoln Daily News, Graue
Chevrolet Buick, Johnson Real Estate, Fricke-Calvert-Schrader
Funeral Homes, Topflight Grain, ME Realty, Lincoln Printers,
McEntire’s Home Appliance, Michelle Bauer of Country Financial,
Rohlfs Implement Company, Atlanta Locker Service, The Atlanta
National Bank, John R. Renfro of The Carpet House, Chris Coyne of
State Farm Insurance, J.M. Abbott and Associates, Ltd., Culver’s of
Lincoln, Lyle Fout, Corey Leonard Shelter Insurance, Heartland Bank
and Trust Company, the Atteberry Family, Werth Realtors, Steve
Shoemaker of Central Illinois Insurance and Financial Services,
Eaton, Lee Westerfield, Robert Maske, Bev McRoberts, Tonita
Reifsteck, Quilters at Heart, Country Aire Restaurant, Mama’s
Arcade, El Mazatlan, and a donation made in memory of Joe Schaler.
[Matt Boutcher] |
