Campus Connection

For the third year in a row, Freedom Honor Flight and the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse Athletics are teaming up on Veterans Day to honor community veterans. All area veterans and their spouses are invited to the Third Annual Freedom Honor Flight Veterans Day Breakfast Monday, Nov. 11. The event began in 2011 when organizers discovered there were few events scheduled in the area to commemorate Veterans Day. This year, more than 800 veterans are expected to attend, the largest Veterans Day gathering in the  area. The event will begin at 8:15 a.m. with a brief ceremony in the Veterans Hall of Honor inside theUW-L Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex, followed by breakfast inside the adjacent Mitchell Hall Fieldhouse. UW-La Crosse student athletes will welcome the veterans and serve as wait staff for the breakfast from 8-10 a.m. A program at 9:15 inside the Fieldhouse will include comments from Freedom Honor Flight President Bill Hoel, UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow, UW-La Crosse Athletics Director Josh Whitman, Logistics Health Inc. President Don Weber and Garrison Commander Colonel Steven W. Nott of Ft. McCoy. UW-L students have been longtime supporters of Freedom Honor Flight: ROTC students assist with every flight, The Screaming Eagles Marching Band performs at welcome home festivities and athleteshave held several successful fundraisers for veterans. Additional support for the breakfast is provided by Festival Foods and Sodexo Catering and also through a unique partnership of area financial institutions including Coulee Bank and Dirk Gasterland, Merchants Bank, BMO Harris Bank, Citizens State Bank, Community Credit Union, Marine Credit Union,Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and State Bank Financial. Free parking will be available in the C-2 lot directly north of Mitchell Hall. To aid in event planning, organizers would appreciate an RSVP: Veterans who plan to attend can call 608.784.1015. About Freedom Honor Flight Inc. Freedom Honor Flight is the first Wisconsin affiliate of the national network of Honor Flight organizations. The hub, which is based in La Crosse, serves 25 counties in western Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa. The group’s mission is to organize and fly groups of veterans to Washington D.C., to visit the war memorials that stand in their honor. The group receives no government funding and depends on donations, which are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Learn more about Freedom Honor Flight at www.freedomhonorflight.com. If you go— What: Third Annual Freedom Honor Flight Veterans Day Breakfast When: 8-10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11 Where: Mitchell Hall, UW-La Crosse Admission: Free