By Leslie Kilgore EBS CONTRIBUTOR
On Monday afternoon, the annual Veterans Day assembly at Lone Peak High School hosted community members, Big Sky School District students in grades K-12 and distinguished veterans from the area.
A tradition in Big Sky for 15 years now, the Lone Peak student council plans the event each year and leads the community in various ceremonies to honor veterans from the area.
This year, the student council invited more than 40 veterans from Big Sky, West Yellowstone and the Gallatin Valley to attend the ceremony. Each veteran was honored by a roll call and was asked to stand so the community could pay tribute to their branch of service and the sacrifices they made for our country.
“It’s a great way to connect to our local veterans and give back,” said Lone Peak senior Maddy Browne, student council president. “The American Legion donates to the D.C. trip each fall for sophomores and many more things that our school looks forward to each year. We wanted to honor as many veterans as possible.”
In addition to honoring the veterans who attended, Lone Peak’s a capella group sang a medley to honor each branch of the military, along with the national anthem and several other songs to celebrate America. Third graders shared a patriotic poem and thanked the veterans in attendance for their service.
Members of the student council told the group about the history and significance of Veterans Day, performed a flag-folding ceremony, and shared a speech honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action.
The keynote speaker was School Safety Manager Matt Daugherty. A fifth-generation Montanan, Daugherty has lived in Big Sky for the past 24 years. He worked in law enforcement with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office after serving in the United States Air Force from 1994 to 1998. As a former dog handler protecting military bases in Texas and Central America, Dougherty made a special tribute during his speech to the dogs who have served in the U.S. military around the globe.
“We live in one of the greatest countries in the world,” Daugherty said to the students and visitors when concluding his speech.
After the ceremony, students were encouraged to introduce themselves to the veterans in attendance and were reminded to honor the veterans they know in their own lives.
“It was very important to the student council that we taught the younger students the importance of Veterans Day,” Browne said. “And how they can give back not just on Veterans Day but every other day too.”
