Greetings from your Missouri Capitol on this beautiful fall morning in Mid-Missouri. While we have had a touch of cold weather over the past week or so, the effect it has had on our trees in my neighborhood is absolutely beautiful. This is certainly one of the reasons I love living in Missouri is enjoying the beauty of the four seasons.
It has been a busy couple of weeks since my last correspondence with you and I will try to cover briefly a few of the activities I have been working on and involved with.
Veterans Day and the activities leading up to the day itself are indeed comforting to all our veteran community here locally as well as across the state. Over the past five years I have been asked to speak at various events and am always honored to participate. This year I was invited by two different school districts to speak to their students. On Wednesday the 10th I spoke with the Cole County R-V schools and more than 650 students ranging from kindergarten to seniors were in attendance. The program they had prepared was moving for all the veterans in attendance as well as the parents and community members in attendance. The program began with a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem that nearly brought the house down. This was followed by an introduction of the veterans when their song was played by the high school band. Each individual branch is proud of their song and rose as one when it was played. Following that there were three young men in attendance who have made the commitment to serve our country, two joining the Missouri National Guard and who will be attending the United States Naval Academy and playing basketball for them. I expressed my gratitude and respect for them making the decision to serve our country and how all of us are proud of them and wish them good luck and God's speed in their service. After that I delivered my thoughts with them and my history and that of my family. I also took the opportunity to thank them for their fundraising efforts in bringing the Gold Star Family Memorial Monument to the Capital City. Their school raised over $2,000 throughout the entire school system and they have ownership in this historic monument and being a Gold Star family member, I can appreciate its significance on a personal level.
Then on Veterans Day I drove to Bevier, Missouri and spoke with their students from K-12. Anytime I am given the opportunity to speak with young people about service to y0ur country, I jump at the chance. They had a wonderful breakfast for all veterans and they began their ceremony with the procession of veterans from the local area. Veterans came from as far away as Shelbyville to be a part of the day's activities. In my talk with them I told them a story of one of their own who had walked the same halls they do today who was a prisoner of war in WWII by the name of Bob "Bobby" Skinner. I met Bob and his family when our family moved to Chillicothe and I grew up in the same neighborhood and graduated from high school with his daughter Recil. Bob's story of being a trail gunner and engineer on a B-24 bomber was one of courage, endurance, pain and isolation for more than 350 days in three German POW camps in and around Berlin and Munich. While Veterans Day is intended for the living veterans, I felt it was important of the history their school has in those who have served our country. As with all my talks to schools I ended with an appeal for them to consider service in one of the branches of the military. Even if it's just for a short time, the time they spend will change their lives and make them better Americans because of it. I am always comforted after these appearances with the youth we have here in the heart of Missouri. Young men and women who respect their veterans and show genuine gratitude for our service. We can all certainly be proud of them and their parents who have instilled this in them.
Veterans Day ended with a dinner for all veterans at the American Legion Post 5 which was hosted by the good folks at Building Community Bridges. Doug Wright and his crew served up an awesome meal to the over 200 veterans and their families complimented by an array of desserts which were enjoyed by all. Community partners like BCB are what make Jefferson City a great place to live. This organization has sprung up from literally a grassroots to what they are today in serving all of Jefferson City and the veteran community is grateful for their support and we in turn are supporting them in their upcoming capital campaign. Thank you Building Community Bridges for all you do for our community and our veterans.
This is all I have room for in this edition and in the next column I will share with you news on the National Cemetery and where we are with that project as well as preparation for pre-filing of bills for December.
As always, my door is open and I encourage your emails, phone calls or personal visits. Hearing from you gives me the insight to serve you better and I am honored to be your state representative.
State Rep. Dave Griffith, R-Jefferson City, represents Missouri's 60th District and shares his perspective on statehouse issues twice a month.