Thanks again to everyone who made this year’s Veterans Day celebration such a great one, especially Alberto Villegas and all members of the Eddy County Patriotic Association. Softball coach John Tigert served as this year’s keynote speaker, and he told an incredible story about his family’s history of military service. Greg Bland also read a wonderful poem about our veterans that was inspired when he saw a video of the placement of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. You can view these presentations on the City’s Facebook page, if you were not able to make it to the ceremony.
The Carlsbad Veterans Honor Guard, Grace Rodriguez, Rabbi Jay Newcomb, Liza Carrasco and several local youth all assisted us with the ceremony as well. Chaplain Sam Plumlee helped us with the dedication of the Carlsbad Memorial Veterans Ceremony, which is now operational.
We also want to give a very special thank you to Ken Young, Robert Galindo and the Cavemen Band for participating in the annual Veterans Day Parade. Thanks as well to the many volunteers and community members who assisted with the parade and ceremony. World War II veteran Bill Fuson, my uncle, and Korean War veteran Don Dayton were among the special guests present. Many other groups went above and beyond to help honor our veterans, and we appreciate all of their effort.
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It was a weekend full of pianos in Carlsbad. On Friday, Carlsbad Community Concerts hosted Jason Lyle Black at the P.R. Leyva Auditorium. The Carlsbad High School Jazz Band opened for Black in front of a packed auditorium. Free tickets were given to area veterans to thank them for their service. A lot of hard work went into putting this excellent event together. Special thanks to Rebecca Cannon, who worked very hard on this event.
Then on Saturday, the Boys & Girls Club hosted a “Keys for Kids” fundraiser at the Pecos River Village Conference Center. Special thanks to organizers Caleb Cunningham, Missi Currier and Ekta Bhakta, as well as the very involved Boys & Girls Club board. It has been a great few weeks for the Boys & Girls Club of Carlsbad, and the club recently recognized the hiring of executive director Melissa Chavez.
One of the other events coming up in Carlsbad will be a special recognition ceremony on Dec. 8 at the college. The Ricky Garcia Foundation, the Cavemen Strong organization and the Spirit of Carlsbad will all be honoring outstanding citizens, first responders, teachers and students. We will also be recognizing several retired teachers that evening and several outstanding citizens. This will be another great night in Carlsbad.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway