Mercer Holds Veterans Day Ceremony, Luncheon

SCI Mercer kicked off its Veterans Day activities with a special ceremony held on the Veterans Service Unit. The ceremony focused on remembering the 13 military heroes lost at Kabul, as well as the Marines birthday (Nov. 10), remembering all of the fallen and military ritual. The VSU's Color Guard participated by posting colors, folding the flag in honor of those lost in Kabul and retiring the colors. Several VSU participants contributed to the ceremony by conducting roll call on the unit; reading the VSU mission statement, In Flanders Field and the Marine Birthday Letter; providing opening remarks; and conducting the Pledge of Allegiance. The guest speaker portion of the ceremony was filled with an inspiring video of Admiral McRaven addressing the University of Texas at Austin class of 2014. After the ceremony, VSU participants spent the day watching inspiring military drill teams.

SCI Mercer's Support the Troops committee held their annual Veterans Day Luncheon to honor veteran employees. The luncheon began on Nov. 10 with the midnight shift and concluded at the end of the afternoon shift meal period on November 11. The luncheon began at SCI Mercer in 2009 as a way to show appreciation to all of the veterans that had to work on Veterans Day, and it has become a much-anticipated event at the facility. This year's menu included hamburgers, sweet sausage, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, chips, cookies, pies and assorted drinks. Administrative staff and committee members volunteered their time to cook and serve for the event.