Kansas Wesleyan will host its second annual Veterans Recognition Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 20, as part of Homecoming 2023. The event will get underway at 11 a.m. outside the Student Activities Center and is free of charge. All veterans will receive a small token of appreciation. Numerous elected officials, active-duty servicemen, local law enforcement, and representatives from approximately 20 veterans and advocacy groups are expected to attend.
By registering for the event before Oct. 13, each veteran and their one guest can eat for free immediately after the ceremony. The indoor picnic meal will be available to others for a small fee. All are encouraged to stay for the Homecoming pep rally immediately following the meal.
“This is a great opportunity to thank those who have given so much,” said Kay Quinn, event organizer and KWU’s assistant director of stewardship and university events. “We hope the community comes out to join KWU in recognizing these great Americans.”
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Karen Berndt Weis, a veteran of nearly three decades of military service, will be the event’s speaker. Weis’ career has included serving as the dean of the U.S. School of Aerospace Medicine and as a consultant to the surgeon general for nursing research, as well as numerous international deployments. Those included Oman (in support of operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield); Afghanistan (twice, in support of Operating Enduring Freedom); and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of Operation Northern Watch. In addition, she was an aircrew member on the mission to bring the wounded back from the Battle of Mogadishu, an incident loosely depicted in the 2001 film and 1999 book “Black Hawk Down.”
Claudette Humphrey ’99, G’01, KWU’s director of career services, will serve as the event’s emcee. Humphrey comes from a long line of military service, with numerous members of her family, including her father, brother, daughter and daughter-in-law, having spent time in the Armed Forces.
For more information, please call 785-833-4526 or email [email protected]. To view the Homecoming 2023 schedule in its entirety, visit www.kwu.edu/homecoming2023.
For more information on Kansas Wesleyan University, visit www.kwu.edu/news.