COLUMBIA – Columbia College will host its second annual Military Recognition Day to honor military service members and formally recognize the opening of the new Veteran Services Center on Thursday, May 21.
The event will feature patriotic singing, a testimonial from a student veteran and a ribbon cutting for the center. A banner also will be on display for local service members to sign.
Mark Schlemper, a current Columbia College student, Navy veteran and member of Columbia College’s Veteran Services Committee, will talk about the value of and need for a veterans center, according to Ramona McAfee, assistant dean for military services at Columbia College.
“What began in 2008 as a special flag-raising ceremony, a U.S. flag and a Columbia College flag that flew over a military installation in Iraq by a Columbia College student, is now an event meant to honor and recognize the men and women in uniform who serve, or served, our country,” McAfee said.
The event will begin at 11 a.m. at the flagpole on Bass Commons and will end at the Veteran Services Center, located on the second floor of Missouri Hall.
It is free to the public, and refreshments will be provided.