Following their stop at TEAM Academy, Veterans made a stop at Colony Court.Diane Cossette, director of activities at Colony Court, announced that there are fifteen veterans currently in residence there; five each from the army, navy, and air force. She asked Tammy Olmanson, a staff member whose son is a marine veteran, to read the poem “Veteran” by Lynne Cary, then acknowledged each veteran in the room and gave them all a chance to be thanked individually for their service. Residents were then given root beer floats to enjoy during a social hour.Pictured from left to right are Lester Root, Marvin Kormaan, Max Lande, Pat Laird, Lowell Wadd, Mel Strand, Richard Olsen, Robert Tiede, and Paul Matthews. Not pictured are Don Mundal, Albert Denn, Brion Danzer, Ken Johansen, Cliff Strand, and Veston Carter.
TEAM Academy hosts Waseca VFW
Veterans Day 2022
Veterans Day 2022
Sat, 12/31/2022 - 3:40pm
Four students, sixth-graders Wyatt Partain and Kailee Harmer and fifth-graders Kiera Holmgren and RJ Attenberger, led the Veterans Day program at TEAM Academy. Partain started the program by giving the welcome, introducing the VFW Color Guard, and leading the school in the pledge of allegiance. Harmer gave a short speech about the history of Veterans Day, Holmgren spoke about the presidential ceremony performed on this day, and Attenberger spoke about the purpose of Veterans Day, highlighting that the day is meant to be a celebration for the nation’s living veterans.
Jeremiah Miller stepped up to the podium next, as the program’s veteran speaker. Miller is a warrant officer in the army national guard. He brought along “Willie,” a puppet he brought to life during his second deployment to Afghanistan. Miller explained to the students that his children were very young when he was deployed, and during his first tour of duty in Iraq he struggled to connect with them during his calls home. Willie helped give him something to talk with them about and to communicate with them about his daily activities and experiences. During his presentation, Miller showed the students of TEAM Academy the process of training and deployment from Willie’s point of view. Willie still serves, according to Miller, and is involved in projects to aid veterans.
After Miller’s presentation, students watched a short video explaining more of the history of Veterans Day and how it developed from Armistice Day. Afterwards, Attenberger collected letters the students of TEAM Academy had written to veterans to be distributed. Following the collection, Taps was played and the VFW Color Guard retired the colors. Students were asked to take a moment of silence as they returned to their classrooms to honor our veterans.
