By: Sharon Aron Baron
It was standing room only when the City of Tamarac along with the Veterans Affairs Committee held its Memorial Day Service Monday morning at Veterans Memorial Park.
Honoring all Americans who made the supreme sacrifice with their unselfish devotion to defending our heritage of liberty and justice for all, the ceremony had residents of all ages attending.
The Taravella High School Concert Band, led by Director Cheldon Williams once again provided the music, and the National Anthem was performed by Chantal Deshaies.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Robert Horwith, with the Veterans Affairs Committee, and the Invocation was given by Dr. Benjamin Stephenson, Veterans Affairs Committee Member.
The Keynote speaker was Petty Officer First Class Demetria M. Spicer who is an Information System Technician with the US Navy. Spicer has been serving in the United States Navy for 13 years and is currently working at the United States Southern Command in Miami.
The Parks and Recreation Department held essay contests at three of Tamarac’s Elementary schools. The winning selections were read by the students who spoke about what Memorial Day meant to them.
Renaissance Charter School: Ashley Scott and Alyssa Zizzo.
Challenger Elementary School: Sivon Tal.
Tamarac Elementary School: Natalie Hanson.
Paul Kinney played “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes and Robert Horwith, Veterans Affairs Committee Chair gave the Benediction.
Mayor Dressler, Vice Mayor Gomez, Commissioners Bushnell, Glasser, and Placko all gave special messages.
At the end of the ceremony, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care provided those in attendance with refreshments.