Veterans Charles Orlando (U.S. Army, 1954-1963) and Cornelius Rogers (Air Force, 1969-1975) visit with SkillsUSA Vice President Billy Demarest, a senior in Questar III’s Automotive Technologies program.
The students and staff of the Questar III Columbia-Greene Educational Center hosted their seventh annual lunch for local veterans and guests on November 4.
Over 260 attendees were served a delicious ham and turkey lunch prepared and served by the Culinary Arts class under the supervision of instructors Chef Peter Desmond and Roxanne Johnson.
A separate room was reserved for coffee and a variety of desserts made by the Introduction to Food Services Class, prepared with the assistance of Instructor Chef James Rhoads, Jr. and Eleanor Eckholm.
School Counselor Sue Strong said the annual Veterans Day Lunch is a true team effort in the building.
“Decorations were provided by the Career Exploration Class, Automotive Services Class, Friends of Rachel, and the Career Center, the Business Information Systems class provided a beautiful PowerPoint, and many other programs donated door prizes. Students from SkillsUSA greeted and signed in our guests, and Criminal Justice students braved the pouring rain to help park cars and meet the veterans. We are especially grateful to the Culinary and Food Services students, and to our maintenance staff for the many, many hours of preparation that went into this event,” said Strong.
SkillsUSA student Billy Demarest led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Aviation Instructor John Mahony read a poem written by Marine veteran Al Miller from school’s maintenance staff. After the event, Demarest said about this experience: “This meant a lot to all of us, to be able to show our appreciation and support and thank the veterans for their service. All of the veterans I spoke with really enjoyed this event, and it was great to hear how enthusiastic they were about their service.”
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