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Toledo area veterans honored at the 10th annual UT ceremony

Andrea Harris

Veterans of all ages were honored at the 10th Annual Veteran’s Day Appreciation Breakfast and Resource Fair hosted by the University of Toledo on Nov. 11 in the Student Union.

Colleen Anderson and Katelyn Montgomery

Veterans of all ages, from World War II to Afghanistan, were present at the 10th Annual Veteran’s Day Appreciation Breakfast and Resource Fair hosted by the University of Toledo.

Interim Provost John Barrett said the event brings in hundreds of veterans from the surrounding area.

“It’s just a place that we can all come together on Veteran’s Day, and thank the veterans, have the veterans here, appreciate our thanks and say to the Toledo community that we really care about these people,” Barrett said.

The event, which began at 8:30 a.m. in the Student Union, included a full breakfast and a number of vendors offering different services. Veterans from all different generations were socializing, wearing everything from Marine baseball caps to Army T-shirts; some of the attendees were even in full uniform.

About an hour later, the ceremony itself started, with Jerry Anderson from Toledo News Now as the master of ceremonies and Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins gave the keynote speech.

After the speech, there was a moment of remembrance for the veterans who gave their lives during service. A ceremonial bagpipe played and a solemn bell rang to honor them. Once the event concluded, busing was offered to take veterans to UT’s Veteran’s Plaza.

The resource fair itself was host to a number of different organizations, including Toledo State Hospital, the Cemetery Reclamation Project, AmeriCare and the Red Cross.

Peggy Holewinski, interim regional chief development officer for the Red Cross, said the booths were meant to focus on a number of different veteran needs.

“You know, it might be housing, it might be benefits that [veterans] need information on … there’s medical, obviously, certainly different types of housing, hospice is here, job opportunities,” Holewinski said.

The UT College of Adult and Lifelong Learning also had a table up to inform veterans about the on-campus Military Service Center in Rocket Hall 1350.

According to the pamphlet that was handed out, one of the primary services offered is assisting in applying GI bills to educational benefits and helping with custom degrees.

Barrett said the university offers several other services for veterans as well, including a Veteran’s Lounge in Rocket Hall 1529, and the Yellow Ribbon program, which offers scholarships to veterans who pursue further education in law or nursing.

“We have long been a major supporter of veterans and want to continue to be at the forefront of that,” Barrett said.

Arnie Elton, a first time attendee of the event and Vietnam War veteran, said that the event was a great way for veterans to connect.

“I thought it was a great time for all the veterans to get together, with many of them with shared experiences of losing their friends, and it’s just nice to get together and see the survivors and how our nation goes on, and we’re just so proud to live in America, and have the freedoms that we have,” Elton said.

The event began ten years ago, and the breakfast and resource fair were originally separate. Vern Snyder, vice president for institutional advancement, said the event usually has about 500 veterans in attendance, but has seen as many as 700.

UT volunteered to host the event in Savage Arena several years ago, combining the breakfast and the resource fair in one place. Snyder said UT has truly given the event a home.

“We offered the university — Savage Arena, and for the event and we partnered with the Red Cross,” Snyder said. “So that’s given it the solidarity that it needs, the home that it needs.”

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