Dianne Edmondson
Several hundred people gathered at 9:00 a.m. on a chilly Saturday, November 11, morning at the Veterans Park between the Grill and the Clubhouse to participate in the Support Our Troops memorial ceremony. The attendees were serenaded by the Robson Chamber Music Ensemble who delighted the crowd with patriotic tunes and then all joined Carol Ann Heine in singing the Star Spangled Banner. State Representative Dr. Lynn Stucky was the keynote speaker and came wearing a large button that bore the photo of his late father-in-law who was a patriotic veteran prior to his death earlier this year. He thanked both the veterans present and their families for the sacrifices all had made in serving our country. Then he presented special honors for five Robson veterans, four of whom were in attendance: James Gregg, Randy Sabre, Robert Rogers and Steve Russell. Veteran Robert Bass also was honored but was unable to attend.
Following these presentations the ceremony closed with a haunting version of Echo Taps and was capped with a thrilling flyover salute by Larry Brown, Miguel Ondina, Tom Richards and Jim Gregg, Jr. Then the crowd moved into the awesome silent auction, which was loaded with hundreds of tempting items for 12 hours of bidding. SOT President Susan Galbraith estimates that nearly 200 people attended the ceremony, plus about 1,000 who went through the silent auction area and attended the two Robson Choir Patriotic Concerts. The entire day was a very fitting salute to the 400+ veterans living here in Robson Ranch. Thank you all for your service!