UW-Green Bay to host annual veterans appreciation event Nov. 10
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will continue its tradition of honoring military veterans with a reception held Thursday, Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day.
The 2011 Chancellor’s Veteran Reception will recognize all who have served and are currently serving, especially those who have been recently activated and are returning to school. The annual UW-Green Bay observance will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10 in the Phoenix Room of the University Union on campus, 2420 Nicolet Drive.
Broadcast personality John Maino will serve as guest speaker for the event, which is open to all veterans and their families, as well as the campus and Green Bay communities. Maino is well known for his support of veterans and his authorship of the books Frontlines: Personal Accounts of Wisconsin Veterans and The Pacific. Kim and Allen Tuttle of Luxemburg will arrange a visit of the “Wisconsin Wall,” which honors all Wisconsin veterans who have died since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the event, UW-Green Bay’s Vets 4 Vets Student Club will collect items for care packages to be sent to active-duty service members. Music and refreshments will be provided during the reception.
During the 2010-11 school year, UW-Green Bay had 410 veterans and dependents using veteran education benefits, an increase of about 100 such individuals from the prior academic year and up from 165 just five years ago. Nearly 250 of the 410 were veterans. Moreover, UW-Green Bay continues to have current students called to active duty, including more who are preparing to be activated in February, said Elaina Koltz, veteran services adviser at UW-Green Bay. Those students are scheduled to go to Kuwait to assist with the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
For three years running, G.I. Jobs magazine has designated UW-Green Bay as a top “military friendly school” for its support of veterans. Recent veteran-centric events have included UW-Green Bay’s Veteran Open House and the Hiring Our Heroes job fair held in October at Lambeau Field. UW-Green Bay’s Counseling and Health Services has paid special attention to veteran health concerns, hosting “Seeking Light in the Darkness,” a program for veterans who have lost a friend or loved one to suicide.
UW-Green Bay initiated its annual Veteran’s Reception in 2005 to recognize those coming back to campus after activation and to honor all veterans on campus and in the community. To make a reservation, please contact Koltz in the Financial Aid Office at (920) 465-2065, or koltze@uwgb.edu. For information about veterans’ benefits at UW-Green Bay and in the UW System, visit www.uwgb.edu/registrar/veterans and http://gibill.wisconsin.edu/.
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