Health & Fitness
Vets, Cadets and Astronauts
Honor a vet, help a cadet and meet an astronaut all in one evening.
There’s still time to support vets and cadets at the annual fundraiser for Marin’s Air Force JROTC on Thursday, Nov. 14. This year’s event includes an amazing line-up with guest speaker Capt. Richard “Dick” Gordon, Apollo 12’s pilot, Marin’s Space Station Museum’s traveling display of mission artifacts, NASA astronaut Col. Yvonne Cagle, M.D., and the Honoring Our Marin Veterans oral history project.
The Marin AFJROTC, an elective class open to students from Marin and surrounding counties, helps dozens of high school students by promoting citizenship, developing leadership and critical and creative thinking, teaching effective communication and much more. I’m a proud parent of a third-year cadet, and I can’t speak highly enough about the program, based at Novato High School, and what it does for high school students of all walks of life. Unlike college level ROTC programs, this isn’t a preparation for military service, but it most definitely is a preparation for life.
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Building Better Citizens for America and the Marin AFJROTC have hosted and honored more than 100 veterans annually for the past five years. I’ve had the pleasure of attending this event twice now, and I cannot adequately describe how touching the event is. Veterans and their spouses pay nothing to attend. For a donation of $50, others get to honor the vets and enjoy entertainment by The Swingin’ Blue Stars of the USS Hornet and enjoy dinner, a silent auction and raffles a’plenty.
Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Parent volunteers help the many cadets and BBCA members make sure everyone has a great time. This year, I’m helping run the dining room, making sure, among other things, that everyone enjoys a nice glass of wine (or two).
The Stars and Stripes dinner runs from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. For an additional donation, you can attend a VIP reception starting at 5 p.m. where you can chat with Capt. Gordon. The fundraiser takes place at Marin Catholic High School at 675 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Kentfield. You can RSVP by this Wednesday, Nov. 6, at buildingbettercitizens.org or by calling 415.383.0396. Already have plans for the evening? Donations are also always welcome. (Hint, hint.)
If you’d like to learn more about the AFJROTC, please contact Col. Hiroshi Yamaguchi via email at hyamaguchi@nusd.org or phone at 415.898.2125.
