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News Release

Contact: Mark McGowan, NIU Office of Public Affairs
(815) 753-9472

November 5, 2004

NIU Veterans Club plans
annual Nov. 11 Veterans Day ceremony

DeKalb — Members of the Northern Illinois University community can honor veterans Thursday, Nov. 11, during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at the flagpole across from Altgeld Hall.

Scheduled for 11 a.m. – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the NIU Veterans Club-sponsored event offers the university and DeKalb County community a chance to pay tribute to men and women who have served, or are serving, in the military.

Friends and loved ones of veterans and those currently serving can submit those names through a link on the NIU Veterans Club Web site – www.niuveteransclub.org – to be read aloud at the close of the ceremony.

Featured speakers are Eddie Williams, executive vice president and chief operating officer at NIU as well as a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve; Lieutenant Colonel Craig Engel, chair of the Department of Military Science in the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences; and Mark Mueller, an NIU College of Business alum who served as president of the NIU Veterans Club for three years in the 1990s.

The Rev. Dwight Gorbold, pastor of NIU’s Judson Baptist Fellowship, will offer the benediction. The NIU ROTC will provide the color guard and rifle team.

NIU School of Music student Maurice Walls, a recent U.S. Army veteran, will play “Taps.”

All are welcome.

“This holiday is an opportunity to thank those people who have served, and to remember their sacrifices, especially during this time of war when so many military personnel are serving overseas,” said NIU Veterans Club President Jennifer Webster, a music education major and veteran of the U.S. Army. “We would not have a United States of America if not for veterans.”

The ceremony is meaningful for veterans as well as civilians, she said.

“If I was not a veteran and I was attending, I would feel a renewed sense of pride, patriotism and connection to people who have served and are serving now. I would feel grateful,” Webster said. “I no longer serve, but at those times when I’m involved in an activity of support like this one, I feel connected.”

The 20 members of the NIU Veterans Club – this year celebrating its 50th anniversary – also will collect donations for “Dear Soldier” holiday care packages in drop-off boxes available Monday, Nov. 8, through Thursday, Nov. 11, in the Holmes Student Center Bookstore.

Items sought include books, magazines, stamps, powdered Kool-Aid or Gatorade mix, and non-perishable food items. Financial donations also are welcome. Call Webster at (815) 758-2324 for more information.

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