Calhoun Hosts Free Community Veterans Day Program
October 30, 2020Calhoun Community College will host its annual Veterans Day Program on November 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The event will be held in the Kelley Gymnasium on the College’s Decatur campus, 6250 US Hwy 31 N., Tanner, AL.
Dr. Joe Fitzgerald, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) for North Alabama, will be this year’s event speaker. He is the founder and President of “Honor Flight – Tennessee Valley”, an organization that transported more than 1,300 WWII Veterans to their memorials in Washington, D.C. It was one of the first organizations in the country to honor WWII Veterans in this way. Thousands of volunteers, guardians, family members and supporters took part in each flight. Fitzgerald also founded the “Honor Flags”, a program accompanying each Honor Flight. This program transported 250 burial flags of deceased Veterans for ceremonies at the National WWII Memorial to recognize and honor their service. In 2015, he organized “Victory Day”, a national observance of the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, where more than 500 WWII Veterans were honored at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
Dr. Fitzgerald is the Past Chairman of the Alabama Space Science Exhibits Commission (U.S. Space and Rocket Center); Past-President of the North Alabama Veterans and Fraternal Organizations Coalition; Past-President of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Redstone-Huntsville Chapter as well as the Past State President. He was also the 2014 recipient of the National Defense Industrial Association “MG John Bruce Medaris Award” for Excellence in Support for Defense Preparedness. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1971 from The University of Alabama in Huntsville, a Master of Science in 1977 from Alabama A & M University and completed some post-graduate courses toward his Doctoral degree in Science and Technology Management at Hartford Graduate School and Southeastern Institute of Technology.
“Each year, the College hosts a special program to recognize and celebrate not only those members of the Calhoun family who have given back to our country through service in their respective branch of the military,” commented Dr. Patricia Wilson, Vice President of Student Services. “But we also like to honor those throughout our community
who have also served as well as those who join us for this exciting celebration each year,” she added.
In addition to Dr. Fitzgerald’s presentation, the program will also include the annual musical salute to veterans, performed by the Calhoun Jazz Band and Calhoun Chorale.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Social distancing measures will be followed during the program and masks are required for attendance.
