Published: November 05, 2009 10:00 am      

Veterans Tribute set for Nov. 9

Local youth organizations say plans are set for the first annual Youth’s Tribute to the Veterans.

The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

It will be presented by youth from the Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scout Troop 114, the Huntsville Area Rhetoric Team, the Huntsville Children’s Honor Choir and the Huntsville Youth Orchestra in cooperation with the HEARTS Veterans Museum during the week of Veterans Day.

Veterans Day is Nov. 11.

The tribute will take place at the new Veterans Conference Center or Walker County Storm Shelter, which is located in the same location as the new HEARTS Veterans Museum off state Highway 75 North.

Huntsville Youth Organizations have been cooperatively planning the event since this past summer.

“Charolette Olenik shared the idea with some local organizations and asked the Huntsville Area Rhetoric Team to be apart of the event this past summer,” said Rebekah Keefe, community ambassador for the Huntsville Area Rehtoric Team.

“Since then, we have been cooperatively planning the event,” she said.

So far, local youth have established a program for the event and are hoping for ample attendence to honor Huntsville’s veterans.

“We are hoping for several hundred people (to attend),” Keefe said.

At the event, speeches will be given by this past year’s Veterans of Foreign Wars essay contest winners Ethan Springer, Adam Springer and Sarah Maddox.

“They hold the contest every year for students to write an essay,” Keefe said. “They have a different topics every year. Then, students may submit (their essays) to a local VFW post and they pick a winner to go on to state and regionals.”

This year’s essay topic was “Does America still have heroes?”

Also during the tribute, musical performances will be given to honor veterans.

A chamber group from the Huntsville Youth Orchestra will play Stars and Stripes.

“I will also be playing the piano and Desdi Oelinik will play the cello,” Keefe said.

The orchestra’s performances will last approxiamately five minutes long.

The Huntsville Children’s Honors Choir will be performing three songs: “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Proud of our Veterans” and a medley.

The Civil Air Patrol and the Huntsville Area Rhetoric Team will also be on hand to help during the “white table” or “missing man” ceremony.

“The ceremony is done for families of POW or MIA (soldiers),” Keefe said. “They set the table on Veterans Day every year until that person is recovered or comes back home.”

There is no cost for admission and refreshments will be served after the event.

“I would encourage people to attend so that we can show our veterans how thankful we are for their service because they are the ones who fought for our freedom and they are truly heroes,” Keefe said.