About 125 veterans attend Arnold Veterans Day Parade

The Arnold Veterans Day Commission members achieved their mission, commission member Larry Boyce said.

On Nov. 8, approximately 125 veterans participated in the annual Arnold Veterans Day Parade, which was followed by a lunch and a program at Fox High School.

Boyce said the number of veterans attending the parade and program increased by about 25, and the parade was expanded with the addition of firetrucks and military vehicles.

“The parade was much bigger than last year, and that was our intention to make everything bigger and better,” he said. “We had a lot of support from the school, the mayor and the city. It was very good.”

The parade was organized by the Parks and Recreation Department and Veterans Commission, and Fox High School’s Student Council members held a luncheon and program for veterans following the parade.

“We had the largest group of veterans for lunch that I think we have ever had,” Fox High Principal Ryan Sherp said. “We filled up all of our tables, which is wonderful.”

The parade began at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church where church members served coffee and doughnuts before the procession began.

“The Lutheran Church always takes care of us,” Boyce said. “We want to thank them for taking care of us before the parade. They always do.”

The parade went down Tenbrook Road and crossed Jeffco Boulevard to enter the Fox C-6 School District campus.

The veterans circled the campus, which is home to Fox elementary, middle and high schools as well as Rickman Auditorium, the Central Office and Bridges Alternative School, passing out candy to the students along the way.

“I can tell you just talking to the veterans, they were blown away by our students,” Sherp said. “It was cool for them to walk down the street and have the elementary, middle and high school kids cheer them on. It is really a spectacle.”

The parade ended near the flagpole outside of Bridges Alternative School, where a wreath laying ceremony was held.

“We do this for the veterans and the school,” Boyce said. “The school is always receptive and appreciative. You can see it in the students’ faces. All of the students were out, and it is always good to see those happy faces.”

The veterans then went to the new addition at the high school, which leads to the Leo C. Peck Media Center. Boyce said members of Fox High’s Student Council served lunch that veterans ate with juniors and seniors from the school in the commons area near the media center, which is also called the library.

“Lunch was great,” he said. “The Student Council did a great job. It is a beautiful addition that they added there, and it is perfect for occasions like this. We had a good time.”

Following lunch, the veterans went to Rickman Auditorium for a program that was arranged by the Student Council, which included performances by the school’s band and choir.

“The coolest thing is when the veterans come into the auditorium, the students stood and cheered for them until the last one was seated,” Sherp said. “You can’t make the kids do that. They did that on their own. That is the type of students we have, just top shelf.”

Boyce said it is important for the city and school to work together to honor veterans.

“It is very important for the veterans, and I think it is important for the kids to learn who the veterans are, what they have done and what they mean to this country,” he said. “We have to show the younger generation what a veteran is, what they have done and why they did it.”