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11/6/2003 Nov. 11 ceremony to honor Rice veterans BY LINDSEY FIELDER Rice is holding
a Veterans Day ceremony at noon Nov. 11 at the Rice Memorial
Center flagpole to honor the more than 100 veterans currently
on campus. Co-sponsored
by the Office of the President and Human Resources, the
ceremony has been approved for a military helicopter fly-over.
It will also feature opening remarks from Doug Tomlinson,
a veteran and operations manager of Facilities and Engineering
(F&E); student speaker Griffin Hetrick with NROTC; and
a keynote address from Rice President Malcolm Gillis. Sasha
Cook, a Baker College senior, will sing the national anthem.
A flag presentation and reception will round out the 20-minute
ceremony. Employees and
students who are veterans have been invited to wear their
uniforms and special lapel pins to the event. Small American
flags will be given to those who attend the ceremony. Colleen Dutton,
assistant director of Human Resources, said this ceremony
is a time to extend appreciation to those at Rice who have
served in the military or are currently serving. As proud veterans,
Henry Paige, custodial supervisor in F&E custodial services,
and Roger Rodriguez, a carpenter in F&E carpentry, separately
came up with the idea for some sort of event acknowledging
those at Rice who served in the military. They eventually
joined efforts to begin planning something to honor veterans. The idea was
presented to the president’s office and approved. Plans
to make this event campus-wide began immediately. Paige, who has
been doing most of the legwork for the ceremony, said he
hopes to make this year’s event great, so it can continue
in the future. “This is
important because it’s the first time Rice has had
a Veterans Day ceremony,” Paige said. “We want
this event to be great now and for many years to come.” At first, Rodriguez
said he was only thinking of a way to recognize other veterans
in the F&E department. By engaging the entire Rice community,
he said, this event has surpassed
his expectations. “It’s beyond what I had in mind,” Rodriguez said. “Now that it’s campus-wide, we’re hoping it’ll stay that way.” |
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