February CVMD Roundtable: Veterans Day Theme, Sweetheart Dance

Veterans representing various organizations discuss upcoming events at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District’s Feb. 5 Roundtable.

Participants in the Clovis Veterans Memorial District’s Feb. 5 Roundtable discussed choosing a theme for this year’s Veterans Day. 

CVMD CEO Lorenzo Rios said, “Every year we have a theme for Veterans Day, and that theme is shared with our school district. It gets all the kids to think about the cost of freedom and it gets them to think about what it means to serve.” 

Once the CVMD board decides on a theme, a curriculum packet centered on the theme is sent to Clovis Unified School District. Students then submit various projects based on the theme.

“Children have the opportunity to do artwork from elementary, junior high students get to do an essay, high school students can do digital submissions and it is centered around the theme,” Rios said. 

Past themes included  “what it means to be a veteran,” and “heart of a hero,” which focused on the D-Day invasion.

Dave Richey of Amvets suggested that the 2020 theme focus on the future.

“Its 2020 and we often think of 2020 as having to do with good vision, so maybe vision for the future based on our service and trying to maintain a future for our country,” Richey said.

Other suggestions included historical events such as V-E Day and V-J Day.

The CVMD Board will decide on the theme at a later date.

As usual, the the roundtable highlighted upcoming veteran-related events.

The CVMD will host its Sweetheart Dance Feb. 9 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The free event will feature live swing music. The CVMD encourages canned food donations to benefit Central Valley Veterans and cash donations to benefit the Clovis Boys and Girls Club.

The VA Central California Health Care System in Fresno will host a series of events for National Salute to Veteran Patients Week Feb. 10 through Feb. 14. The week will end with a Salute to Veterans Ceremony in the VA’s auditorium Feb. 14 at 12:30 p.m. 

The CVMD will be closed Feb. 17 for Presidents Day.

The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold a Flag Retirement Ceremony Feb. 29 at 7246 North De Wolf Avenue. About 2,000 flags are expected to be retired at the ceremony.

 

Ron Camacho was born and raised in Clovis. He attended Clovis High School and graduated from CSU Fresno in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Journalism. Before joining the Roundup, Ron wrote for Pollstar Magazine and the Sanger Herald. He has a deep appreciation for the arts and is a lover of music, cinema and storytelling. When he’s not busy looking for his next story, Ron enjoys taking weekend expeditions to the beach or mountains to practice landscape photography.