The Lenape Regional High School District will be sending off graduating seniors who have chosen to serve their country by enlisting in the Armed Forces in style this year, as it continues an event that has become an annual tradition.
The Lenape Regional High School District will host the third annual Armed Services Awards on Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m., at the Lenape High School auditorium.
The event will honor district students who are entering the military or military academy, alumni and district employees serving in the armed forces as well as military veterans.
In addition, this year’s ceremony will pay tribute, for the first time, to parents of students who are actively serving or who are veterans of the armed services.
A number of current veterans have been invited to attend the ceremony on Monday, said Chris Heilig, the assessment, accountability and planning coordinator for the district.
“We feel it’s important to recognize them through a special ceremony. It’s a nice opportunity for the students and the parents of the students to be in the same auditorium and mingle with former alumni that were in their shoes,” he said. “In other words, these students and parents will have the opportunity to speak with alumni and parents who have been in the armed forces for 25 years and more.”
Col. Joseph A. Bartasius, director of Aberdeen Proving Ground Programs, Global Mission Solutions, BAE Systems, Inc., in Aberdeen, Md., will deliver the keynote address at this year’s ceremony. In addition to Bartasius’ address, the 78th U.S. Army Band will perform.
Bartasius’ 28-year military career began when he was commissioned as a distinguished military graduate through the ROTC program following graduation from Valley Forge Military College.
He has served in a variety of command and staff positions in airborne, light, special operations and training units in Southwest Asia (Iraq and Afghanistan), Germany and the United States. He currently serves as Chief, Region II, Emergency Preparedness Office in support of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
A graduate of Cabrini College, Bartasius earned a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves on the board of directors for the Valley Forges Military Academy and College Alumni Association.
And it’s not too late to be recognized in the ceremony.
To be recognized, all eligible students, employees, alumni and parents are asked to register at www.lrhsd.org/armed_services_signup and complete the electronic form or to contact Keena Coleman at (609) 268–2000, ext. 5521, or via email at kcoleman@lrhsd.org.
Students can also notify their guidance counselors.
