Pride in the United States Armed Forces has existed in the Middlefield community for several decades and the Cardinal School District will demonstrate its support by hosting a Military Appreciation Breakfast & Assembly on Nov. 11 at Cardinal High School.
“From everything I have seen, it has been a very important event and something our students and staff look forward to — also our community,” Cardinal High School Principal Jim Henson told The Weekly Villager on Oct. 3 “They really enjoy it and appreciate that we recognize these very important people in our lives.”
According to Public Relations & Communications lead Haley Adams, Cardinal has celebrated its support for the armed forces by hosting an annual Military Appreciation Breakfast & Assembly since 2021.
Cardinal High School will welcome veterans of the Armed Forces to campus and host them for a breakfast. If any of the veterans attending have family members that attend the Cardinal School District, those family members also are invited to join the breakfast.
“That is a great experience,” Henson added. “Any time you have family together that is awesome. Also they are there to recognize the services and sacrifices of our community.”
Following the conclusion of the breakfast, all students from the Cardinal School District and also residents from counties neighboring Geauga County are invited to attend an assembly in the auditorium.
School choirs will perform in honor of the veterans including the high school choir, the Cardinaires, as well as the high school band. Henson noted that several junior high students will read aloud the essays that they submitted to the Powers of the Pen contest, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Burton. Junior High English Language Arts Teacher Greg Cicero selected one student from the seventh grade and one student from the eighth grade to read their essays aloud at the assembly.
Finally, Cardinal’s senior class president will also deliver a speech that recognizes all attending veterans and honors them for their service and sacrifice.
Henson said that one of the most rewarding parts of the annual breakfast and assembly is the rising number of attendees and how quickly it has spread through Geauga County, last year marking the first time there were attendees from neighboring Geauga County communities, including Chardon and Chesterland.
“I think it is always a great thing when we can set the standard for such a great event and we are happy that it is expanding to other communities,” he noted.
Adams also highlighted how the event has inspired graduating students to enlist in the armed forces.
“It is an easy way for us to be able to reach out to our community members and recognize them as they continue to build relationships even after they graduate,” she noted. “You still have those relationships with teachers and staff members so something like this is easy for us to recognize them and give back to them.”
Henson also spoke of the importance of how the students can be informed through the Military Appreciation Breakfast & Assembly about what opportunities a military career can provide.
“It is very important that they understand the opportunities that can be offered them and what it can do for them and what an honor it is to serve our country,” he noted.
He acknowledged the impact that a military career has had on his own family, as his son enlisted following his graduation and has been serving as an Army Ranger at Fort Benning, GA for five years.
“It has been a great experience for him,” he said. “He has grown into a very confident young man through the training that he has had. The guys that he is with at his work, they are a very tight family, because of the things that they go through, and he is very happy with his decision to have done this and encourages others to do it as well.”
Henson and Adams also spoke of their interest in having veterans deliver keynote speeches at future assemblies.
“We are continuing with what we know works and it is a great program,” he said. “We are always looking to improve and that may be something that we consider in the future.”
