Administration, Faculty, and Students at Arizona College took time to gather, honor, and recognize those who serve. A flag dedication ceremony was held to commemorate the flag and honor local veterans.
VFW Post 1760 and the East Valley Young Marines partnered together and donated the flag display at the school. The dedication ceremony began with a joint color guard comprised of members of both the VFW Post 1760 and the East Valley Young Marines.
Crystal Whittaker, the admissions representative for the campus and an active Air Force Reservist, approached the Post in December about getting a flag display at the school. “As a veteran myself, I thought that it was a disservice to our veterans no to have the symbol of our country’s values and traditions displayed on the campus.” Once the Post 1760 and the East Valley Young Marines found out about the need, they went to work to collect the materials for the display. Once the materials were collected the school wanted to have a dedication ceremony.
The ceremony concluded with words of appreciation from Frank (Gunny) Alger, the VFW Chaplain and Unit Commander of the East Valley Young Marines and Joshua Kramer, the Mesa Campus Director presented the school with a We support our troops streamer.
The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Since the Young Marines’ humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 300 units with 10,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan and affiliates in a host of other countries. For more information, visit the official website at YoungMarines.com.
