BY BOBBIE FOUST
Special to Marshall County Daily
Military veterans and active military service members are invited to the 18th annual Veterans Appreciation Luncheon and Program scheduled for Nov. 3 at Lyon County High School gymnasium. The event is free and serving will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the program at noon.
“The last of the invitations have been sent to the veterans who are on our mailing list,” said Terrie White, program founder. “This year included in the invitation is a stamped RSVP postcard to send back indicating who will attend. This is just to help us get an idea of how many people to expect. However, all military veterans are invited regardless of whether or not they return the cards, and for those not on our mailing list, please consider this your invitation.”
The program began in 2000 when White, then a fourth-grade teacher at Lyon Elementary School, was looking for a way to teach her students why the nation observes Veterans Day. She had seen her father, the late Ray Foust Jr., make sandwiches for an American Legion gathering and that inspired her. White discussed ideas with her students and they decided to host a reception for area veterans in her classroom. She announced the reception in the newspaper and 11 veterans including her father show up. Students served cookies and punch to their guests and listened to their stories about their military service.
“I started this program as a tribute to our veterans whose courage gave me the freedom to teach my students what it means to live in America,” White said. “My Dad, a proud Marine, taught us love of God and country, and I do this as a tribute to him and to all our veterans in Lyon County and western Kentucky. I believe we must teach each generation that freedom is not free — that our military veterans have paid a price for the free society we enjoy.”
Each year, White writes and directs fourth graders in performing a program of patriotic readings and music. “The students have been learning the songs with music teacher, Caroline Wright,” White said. “After fall break we will begin practicing on the program. The program is a little different from year to year except for our two familiar songs, ‘Armed Forces Medley’ and Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA.’”
The crowd has grown steadily and some years it has attracted more than 300 veterans, their spouses and active military personnel. Former Gov. Steve Beshear, himself a veteran, attended in 2009, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo came in 2011, and two general officers have attended in other years. Gen. Michael Dornbush attended on two different occasions. On his first visit, he discarded his prepared remarks saying the students already knew everything he intended to tell them. He called the program “world class.”