News - Military

Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Breakfast for champions

Students at Gautier High School will get to hear about history firsthand next week when they honor veterans in the community during the school’s annual veteran’s breakfast.

This is the 10th year for the celebration, and just about every student and club in the school is involved in decorating the school, serving breakfast or performing patriotic songs for the veterans. The breakfast will be held at 8 a.m. Monday at the high school.

“The breakfast is not only a way to show these men and women how much we appreciate what they have done to ensure our freedom every day,” Principal Myrick Nicks said. “But it also presents the ideal opportunity for these students to talk about the history they have read about in their textbooks with the same people who lived those events.”

The breakfast began in 1999 by then-teacher Susue Bounds. Bounds now lives in Madison but she still helps organize the event and attends every year. U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor was the guest speaker at the first breakfast and will deliver the keynote address this year.

The event began in the library but by the next year had grown so much it had to be held in the cafeteria. This year, organizers expect more than 300 people to attend.

After breakfast, veterans and their families will go to the gym where the entire student body will be assembled, waving American flags and cheering as the veterans enter. Students also will get a chance to visit with veterans after the program.

“It’s the connector for students and all the things that make us American,” Nicks said.

Sidney Carol Murphey teaches at Gautier High and helps organize the event every year. She said the event benefits the students, the veterans and the community.

“It gives the students the chance to thank the veterans for all they’ve done,” she said.

Everyone who attends is asked to bring toiletries, socks, books and cards, which will be delivered by students to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Biloxi.

This year’s breakfast will feature another special event. The husband of one of the school’s counselors, 1st Lt. Steve Edwards, is stationed in Iraq and flew a flag there in honor of Gautier High and its annual veterans breakfast. He sent the flag back, and Murphey will present it to the school at the breakfast.

The public is invited to attend.