Post 11 to hold Veterans Day programs Saturday and Monday

The leaders of Robert Boyd Stewart American Legion Post 11 have announced their post’s programs for the Veterans Day weekend.

Commander Rich Fink and post historian and North District Vice Commander Nicolle Laffin reported Tuesday that Post 11 will sponsor a veterans breakfast on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Lovell Fire Hall from 8 to 10 a.m. Kristi and Tim DeFuentes will do the cooking and are organizing the event, which is for all area veterans and their families. Fink said he would love for all of the soldiers soon to be deployed to the Middle East to come to the breakfast.

On Veterans Day itself, Monday, Nov. 11, Post 11 will hold its annual program at the North Big Horn Senior Citizens Center. The Lovell High School Choir will sing the national anthem, and Post 11 will introduce senior Jarrett Allen, who attended American Legion Boys State, Wyoming High School Rodeo Queen Payton Bischoff and 2024 LHS graduate Riley Laffin, who competed successfully in the American Legion Oratory Contest, winning at the post, district and department levels to advance to the national competition.

Laffin, now a member of the Northwest College speech and debate team, will be the speaker at the November 11 program.

Master of ceremonies Fink will introduce all veterans in attendance, and honor quilts will be presented to three local veterans, with an additional quilt presented last week to Ron Ferguson at the care center in Lovell.

Taps will be played by Dale Fowler and David Peck, and the colors will be presented by Post 11 members Mike Kitchen, Tom Dillon, Tim DeFuentes and Bruce Dempster. Jim Thomas is the chaplain of Post 11.

Nicolle Laffin will pass out poppies to honor veterans.

School programs

Programs are also being planned for Veterans Day in both School District No. 1 and School District No. 2.

The program for Lovell schools at the LHS Johnny Winterholler Gym will begin at 8:40 a.m. with the band playing the prelude “Yankee Doodle.”

After welcoming remarks by Supt. Doug Hazen, members of Post 11 will post the colors, and the audience will be asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The choir will lead in the singing of the National Anthem.

The program will include student and adult narrators Kendra Allen, Cutler Wilkerson, Isaac Sanders, Camden Blain, Lynn Marchant, LHS principal Craig Lundberg, Lucas Grant, Kalayna Sanchez, Charlee Twitchell, Bob Weber and Kyson Crosby, interspersed by numbers performed by the high school and middle school bands, Lovell Elementary School students and combined middle and high school choirs. LHS senior Stetson Asay will play “Taps,” and the high school band will play the recessional “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

As the combined choirs sing “A Tribute to the Armed Forces,” veterans in attendance will be asked to stand when choir members sing the hymn for their branch of the military.

Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain Middle/High School will hold a Veterans Day program Monday at the RMMHS Gym, starting at 9:30 a.m.

According to music director Gerry Burton, the guest speaker will be Sergeant Major Cedric Phebus, who served in the Colorado Army National Guard and is the uncle of senior Hayden Wambeke.

The program begins with the posting of the colors and the song “God Bless America” performed by the grades 6-12 combined choir and the song “Sacrifices Made” sung by students grades K-12.

After Sgt. Major Phebus speaks, grade 3-12 will sing “Armed Forces: Pride of America” accompanied by the RMHS band. The colors will then be retrieved.

“The public is welcome to come and celebrate, and everyone will be wearing red, white and blue,” Burton said.