MURFREESBORO — Four
days of activities that will honor veterans and active-duty military personnel
will surround the Saturday, Nov. 9, MTSU Salute to Armed Services and Veterans
Day events.
The 32nd annual Salute to Armed Services
activities will coincide with the MT Blue Raiders 3 p.m. Conference USA
football game against Florida International University in Floyd Stadium.
The veterans and military game-day activities include:
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Healthcare and benefits fair near
stadium Gate 3. The fair is presented by U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs and
Tennessee Valley Healthcare System;
• 11:30 a.m. — Veterans Memorial Service, memorial site
outside Tom H. Jackson Building. As part of this event, there will be a
dedication of a tree to women in military;
• 1 p.m. — Pregame Picnic for veterans and their family
members at the Rose and Emmett Kennon Hall of Fame Building (tickets to the
game for vets and family members are courtesy of State Farm and Barrett
Firearms);
• 1:30 p.m. — Presentation of the Joe Nunley Award at Kennon
Hall of Fame. The 24th and 2013 recipient is Col. Ed Smith of
Brentwood, Tenn., who served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, U.S. Air Force
for both the Korean War and Vietnam and who served 33 years altogether; and
3 p.m. — MTSU vs. Florida International game, with special
halftime salute at approximately 4:30. The 337-member Band of Blue will perform
official songs for all the branches of the military as the veterans and
active-duty personnel go across Horace Jones Field. Former American Idol
contestant Kristy Lee Cook will sing “God Bless America.” Before the game
skydivers will parachute in with the game ball and Joe Wilson will sing the
national anthem.
Seats for Soldiers ticket packages are available, and MTSU
will match ticket-for-ticket. There are 80-, 40- and 20-ticket packages
available. To purchase, call James Kentfield at 615-898-5261.
MT Athletics, the university’s military science program and
the Blue Raider American Veterans Organization, or BRAVO, student group are
teaming up and partnering with a number of other organizations to make the
event extra special for the honorees.
A silent auction to benefit the new Tennessee Fisher House at
Alvin C. York Medical Center will be held until 3 p.m. in the Kennon Hall of
Fame.
Plenty of children’s activities will be on site, and
Lightning’s second Punt, Pass and Kick competition for ages 5 to 12 will start
at 10 a.m. at the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.
People attending the game and military events are asked to
bring a new toy for the Marines’ annual Toys for Tots drive.
For more information or to order tickets to the game, call
1-888-937-6878.
Other Veterans Week
Activities at MTSU
• From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, BRAVO is holding
a Veterans Job Fair in the Student Union Ballroom;
• Veterans, particularly women vets, will be recognized
during the MTSU Lady Raiders vs. Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball game,
which is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, in Murphy Center. Tickets are $22. Fans can purchase and print their tickets
online at goblueraiders.com or Ticketmaster.com. Tickets also can be
purchased through all Ticketmaster outlets and the Blue Raider ticket office, located
at Gate 1A of Floyd Stadium. The ticket office phone number is 615-898-5261 and
is open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• At 8 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, BRAVO will hold the 2013
Warrior Challenge 5K/10K Race, which begins at the Military Memorial site
outside the Tom H. Jackson Building. To register, visit http://warriorchallenge2013.com or register through Facebook by searching for “Warrior Challenge 2013;”
and
• A Veterans Salute concert will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov.
10, in Hinton Music Hall inside the Wright Music Building. The concert features
the MTSU Concert Choral, Middle Tennessee Choral Society and MTSU Faculty Brass
Quintet.
For more information about both the Veterans Job Fair and
Warrior Challenge, call MTSU sophomore Malcolm Stallard at1-877-837-4635 or
email mtsu@vet.6.org.
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