Armed Forces Thanksgiving VIRTUAL Salute

Dear Armed Forces Thanksgiving Friends & Supporters:

In honor of the brave men and women of our military, past, present and future, we are excited to announce our 1st VIRTUAL  Armed Forces Thanksgiving Salute to be held on Friday, May 21st during National Military Appreciation Month.  While we will miss celebrating in person, our 2021 VIRTUAL event will provide a rewarding 60-minute LIVE STREAM production accomplishing our mission of providing a community salute to our military while offering an additional educational experience for high school students. 

This year’s event will be highlighted with a keynote address from Retired Chief Warrant Officer Four Michael J. Durant.  His performance during active military duty and in retirement mark him as one of Aviation's best. He is most famous for his harrowing 1993 experience during Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia - as a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) deployed with Task Force Ranger - where he was shot down and held as a prisoner of war by hostile Somali militia for 11 days. Despite his multiple injuries, his performance during captivity - chronicled in news magazines, books, documentaries, and a feature film, Black Hawk Down - is heralded as a model of the "Warrior Ethos" for all Soldiers. His personal conduct serves as a benchmark for today's survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training for all of members of U.S. military.

We hope we can count on your partnership and show our military men and women how grateful we are for their bravery and heroism, while providing a rewarding educational experience for students across the region. It is community members like you who realize the freedoms we enjoy are a result of the tremendous sacrifices our military personnel have made.  

Thank you in advance for your support and consideration.

Peter Ruppert                   John Irwin                    Jeff Terrill

Co-Chairman                    Co-Chairman               Co-Chairman