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Veterans Day Ceremony

BHS pays tribute to veterans with inspirational words and music

By Joanne Beck
David and Keegan Fisher
Keegan Fisher and his dad, David, a U.S. Army veteran, of Batavia.
Photo by Joanne Beck

Batavia High School’s combined chorus usually sings a few patriotic songs for the school’s annual tribute to veterans, and ninth-grader Keegan Fisher was there for his dad’s first visit to the ceremony.

Although he has no aspirations to follow his father’s path to serve in the U.S. Army, Keegan respects how it has shaped him.

“I think it’s pretty cool. He doesn’t take any (nonsense) from anyone,” the high school freshman said Thursday after the hour-long ceremony. “He doesn’t like when people don’t treat others right.”

His dad, David Fisher, is a 1987 BHS grad who has been too busy to attend any of the school's previous veteran ceremonies. He was glad to have had the opportunity to make this one on his birthday, he said. 

 “I attend all the veterans events that I can. I'm with the Patriot Guard riders. We escort people to their final resting place, and that usually winds up taking quite a bit of my time … going to the National Cemetery, local cemeteries, wherever the vet decides to be buried at, that's where we go,” Fisher said. “Not only being a veteran, but being a combat vet, we really don't get a whole lot of thank-yous. So when we do, when we get something like this, it means a lot.”

He signed up for the Army because he “didn’t really anything to do after high school,” and ended up soaking up an eight-year experience to the fullest, he said.

“I wanted to travel, so I kind of figured, what better way to travel then joint he service; they sent you everywhere. It actually turned out to be probably the best decision I’ve ever made,” he said. “I grew up a lot. I learned different cultures from around the world. I also learned the worst that people can do to each other as well. It was just a good experience all the way around. I enjoyed every minute, or almost every minute, of it. I did six months in Panama and two years in the Gulf War.”

High School Principal Jenny Wesp welcomed all of the visiting veterans and noted the high school’s own vets, Greg Ciszak, Chris Weicher and Chris Gorton, plus Board of Education member Chezeray Rolle. 

The chorus sang the “Batavia Alma Mater,” the “National Anthem,” and “Flanders Field,” based on a poem by John McCrae dating back to World War I. The poem's setting is Flanders, a former county in what is now Belgium with a strategically favorable location on the North Sea — great for trade and commerce while also an invitation for many battles, Wesp said. 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Sharon Chaplain
Sharon Chaplain, U.S. Air Force veteran
Photo by Joanne Beck

The BHS wind and string ensembles performed patriotic numbers tucked around keynote speaker and Air Force veteran Sharon Chaplain, who attended Jackson Elementary and Batavia Middle schools from 1979 to 1983 before moving out of the area.  

Now a resident of Brockport, she shared her humble beginnings at Jackson. 

“To say I was quiet and shy is really an understatement,” she said. “I didn’t speak in school. In fact, one of my high school teachers used to read my lips because I wouldn’t speak up. I’d get so nervous that I would throw up. In fact, I threw up in the Jackson school library when I started school there.”

She asked the audience of mostly high school students, “How many of you have ever been told you can’t do something?” and promised to return to that question at the end of her talk. 

Despite her immense timidness, Chaplain wanted to attend college, but she realized two things: college is expensive when paying for it yourself, and that it could be the means to an end of being stuck with her mother. Yes, she loves her mother, but “she was a little bit controlling and I knew that if I didn’t do something drastic, I would be stuck with her for the rest of my life,” Chaplain said.

So, she decided to take a test to join military service. Her first choice was the Navy, which had already met its quota, so she entered the Air Force. She passed that initial test and received notice that she was to begin that November.

“And everybody said ‘you’re not even going to make it through basic training. And to be honest with you, I didn’t think I was going to do it. I wasn’t athletic, didn’t go out for sports,” she said. “But I knew that I had to do something. So I got on the plane … and if you’ve ever seen anything about basic training in the military, it’s pretty much, and I can verify this, it’s pretty much you’re getting screamed at, you’re cleaning and you’re exercising the whole time. And after a couple days, I thought I made the worst mistake in my life.”

It took some more time for her to have a bit of a paradigm shift: this existence, minus perhaps all of the exercising, wasn’t much different than living with her mother, she said. And she observed that when recruits cried or complained, “the instructors were screaming at them all the more.” 

She pushed through and graduated basic training, moving on to technical school, where she learned her job and first assignment. Chaplain ended up being sent to South Korea, a place she hadn’t envisioned when dreaming about where in the world she might get sent to. Her stint was during Desert Storm, and it took more perseverance to be stationed in hostile territory, she said.

During some letter exchanges with folks back home, her enthusiasm for mail waned until she received a package from a 9-year-old girl who sent her puzzle books and games and began to ask her questions. They communicated until Chaplain wrote what would be the final letter. She suggested that this little girl respect the flag and the “Star-Spangled Banner” and those who wear the uniform and what that represents for the United States.

She didn’t hear back from that girl for several years, and wondered if she had offended her. It wasn’t until 25 years later that they met each other, and discovered how each had comforted the other during difficult personal times through those letters and their words.

“So to bring it back to where I started, if anybody tells you you can’t do something, you can’t make a difference, remember this story. A 9-year-old girl made a difference in my life,” she said. “You know, all you have to do to make a difference is take one small step outside of your comfort zone because that's what she did, and that's what I did in joining the service, and that's all it is.”

Vets at BHS
Veterans who attended Thursday's veterans ceremony at Batavia High School includedfront row left, Lurando Mata, U.S. Army and Air Force Reserves; Donald Weyer, U.S. Army; Tom Cecere, U.S. Navy; Rocco Pellegrino, U. S. Navy; back row left, David Reiss, U.S. Navy; Vincent Pontillo, U. S. Marine Corps; Jose Ortiz, U.S. Army; Chris Weicher, U.S. Marine Corps; Vic Digregorio, U.S. Navy; and David Panek, U.S. Navy. 
Photo by Joanne Beck

 

Plenty of patriotism and well-deserved recognition at Batavia High School ceremony Wednesday

By Joanne Beck

Roger Martin typically gets up at 9 each morning, but not this time. He had a wake-up call he couldn’t miss. 

“I got up early this morning so I could be here,” the U.S. Navy veteran said Wednesday at Batavia High School. “I think it’s great they recognize the history of the country and the veterans that serve and protect.”

This was the fifth year of the high school’s effort to recognize local veterans with a special red, white and blue ceremony of all things patriotic, from the Pledge of Allegiance and raising of the U.S. flag to heartening music and words of appreciation.

Martin served in the Navy from 1945-1946. He was a petty officer third-class electronics technician. The 95-year-old Batavia resident took part in the school’s Veterans Day ceremony, one day early to provide veterans with some pomp and circumstance by a concert band, orchestra, and uninformed participants. 

A flag-raising ceremony, a musical tribute of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and words to honor military service people filled the air on the front lawn. High School Principal Paul Kesler thanked the many veterans in attendance for their service and dedication to this country. 

“Men and women like you have protected all of us,” he said. “And we appreciate you.”

Kesler then highlighted veterans who are also on the BHS staff, and gave them a “small token of our appreciation.”

Christopher Gorton is a high school special education teacher and United States Army veteran who served from 1984 to 1992. He earned Army Achievement and Good Conduct medals, and a German shooting award. New to district staff this year, Gorton carries a Commander in Chief’s “challenge coin” that he was given when his unit was honored with its second presidential unit citation from the First Battalion Sixth Infantry Delta Company.

The United States Air Force veteran John Marat is a high school substitute teacher. He served from 1998 to 2005 and met his wife Elizabeth during active duty. Mr. Marat was discharged in 2005, while his wife continued on with military life for 22 years, eventually relocating to the Western New York area.

Don Hawkins is a retired high school special education teacher who served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to1975. He worked at BHS for 30 years and was a specialist 5 during his military service.

Gregory Ciszak is a high school counselor who served for 12 years with the 152nd Engineer Company in the Army National Guard. A staff sergeant and horizontal construction engineer, Ciszak, and his unit were activated to assist with many state emergencies, including snowstorms, floods, and the 9/11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. 

Earth science teacher Christopher Weicher served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1987 to 1991. His service included two combat deployments during Operation Just Cause in Panama and the Gulf War. He received two combat action ribbons, a Presidential Unit Citation and a Meritorious Unit Citation while serving with the Sixth Marine Regiment. 

Martin wished more people had attended, as he enjoyed the morning, he said. It’s important to honor veterans while they are still here, he said. 

“I’m proud to be an American,” he said. “There are not too many of us left.”     

Top Photo: Batavia resident Roger Martin, a U.S. Navy veteran, puts his hand to heart during a ceremony to honor military servicemen and women Wednesday at Batavia High School.

Photos by Howard Owens

GCC holds Academic Open House and vet ceremony, luncheon on Veterans Day Nov. 11

By Billie Owens

Submitted photo and press release:

For more than 20 years, Genesee Community College has invited the public to its Main Campus in Batavia on Veterans Day for two very important events -- welcoming potential new students with an Academic Open House and honoring veterans for their service to our country with a Veterans Day Ceremony.

On Monday, Nov. 11, the tradition continues to host potential students of all ages and their families to Open House from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and the entire community to the annual Veterans Day Honor Ceremony at 12:30 p.m. 

The Academic Open House session will begin with an early bird registration and campus tour at 8 a.m. for those early risers. General registration will be open from 8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m. when the program will begin.

During the program's information sessions, attendees will hear from Admissions, Financial Aid, GCC's Student Success Center representatives and more. Then, the hour-long Academic Fair will open promptly at 10:15 a.m., where GCC professors and instructors from across campus gather to showcase their programs, meet and chat with interested students and family members.

Complete campus tours that include the new Richard C. Call (athletic) Arena and Student Success Center as well as the new apartments at College Village, the Library, Book Store, Student Union, Genesee Center for the Arts and GCC's many state-of-the-art classrooms and labs will be from 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. for anyone interested.

In addition, an optional Nursing Program Information Session will begin in room T102 at 12 p.m.

Online registration for the Open House is the best way to reserve a seat for the opportunity to explore GCC.

Whether you are looking to attend college for the first time, return to college to advance your current career, or even launch a brand new venture, GCC's success coaches are specifically trained to guide individual pathways to success.Meet your success coach at Open House!

The campus tour lasts approximately 60 minutes and participants are encouraged to dress comfortably and wear walking shoes. Self-guided tours are also an option, borrowing a digital tablet from GCC's Admissions office.

A virtual tour is also available fully online here

Immediately following Open House, GCC will host its annual Veterans Day Honor Ceremony at GCC's Batavia Campus beginning at 12:30 p.m. featuring community and student veteran guest speakers.

At 1:15 p.m. a complementary lunch will be served to all veterans.

Those unable to attend the event in Batavia are encouraged to enjoy the event live-streamed at: https://www.genesee.edu/home/event-streaming/ or watch the broadcast at one of GCC's Campus Centers in Albion, Arcade, Dansville, Lima, Medina and Warsaw.

GCC is also holding a special Financial Aid Day / Saturday Visit Day on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019 from 8 a.m. 'til 1 p.m. featuring admissions and academic program information.

On this day, with an official transcript or copy of a GED, attendees will be able to apply and be admitted on the spot!

Those specifically seeking help with completing the FAFSA forms should register here or visit https://www.suny.edu/attend/events, click on "SUNY Financial Aid Days" and find the Genesee Community College Nov. 23 event to register.

Visit Day walk-ins are welcome; however registration for the event guarantees a one-on-one session with a financial aid expert to help complete the FAFSA application online. Interested individuals are encouraged to call GCC's Admissions Office at (585) 345-6800 with any questions.

With more than 65 affordable degree and certificate programs, online courses, Hyflex learning opportunities and seven campus locations, GCC makes it possible for anyone to achieve his or her higher education dreams.

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