Even among the pandemic, the Flint Hills Veterans Coalition has worked hard to ensure Veteran’s Day events still happen.
The Flint Hills Coalition will still hold the Veteran’s Day Parade and indoor ceremony this year, with minor adjustments. One major change is the streaming availability of the events due to the virus. Both the parade and indoor ceremony will be streamed online. President of the FHVC, Chuck Sexton, talks about the importance of being able to stream the events.
“People stay safe as they possibly can and are healthy as they possibly can,” Sexton says. “Which is why the streaming options for those veterans that may be a little older that can’t get out or at a higher risk of catching something that would be incredibly detrimental to them, they can watch it at home, they can watch it wherever there at.”
FHVC member, Melody Sexton adds that the streaming being done due to the pandemic might actually be a step into the future.
“We’ve just made this so accessible now,” Melody Sexton says. “I personally think that this would be a great thing to continue, even after we are done with the quarantines and all of that because this is the generation we want to reach and we want to honor.”
The indoor ceremony will be closed to the public this year, but with the streaming options there are still plenty of ways to listen in. Chuck Sexton tells KMAN the importance of holding Veteran’s Day events and honoring our veterans.
“The freedoms that we enjoy today came through the heart, the suffering, the sacrifice of these heroes from our past. Not taking anything away from these young folks today that are more than willing to make the sacrifice, but we can’t forget them, so that these young folks today are not forgotten,” Sexton says.
Events for Veteran’s Day will start at 7 A.M. with a breakfast at the American Legion Hall. Breakfast can be eaten at the Legion or taken to-go. The breakfast will be free to all veterans, and $5 for all others.
Starting at 9:30 A.M. will be the Veteran’s Day parade running from the mall to City Hall. Even with a smaller parade than usual, FHVC member, Christine Benne says there will still be over 500 participants.
To round out the events for Veteran’s Day will be the indoor ceremony starting at 11 A.M. This event will be closed to the public, but can be streamed online.
To find out more information about the events, visit flinthillsveterans.org.
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