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In honor of Íæż½ã½ã military veterans the office of Diversity and Inclusion, Veterans Affairs and Alumni Affairs hosted a luncheon to unite fellow veterans and educate the Íæż½ã½ã community on how to serve our veterans better.

The event featured a panel of four Íæż½ã½ã veterans and a dependent of a veteran. Panelists included Bud Leonard, Dr. Harley Myler, Ramie Johnson, Joel Laningham and Ti’Anna Hunt. The panel spoke about their experiences with the military and shared insights on how they believe our community could serve and assist veterans.

Laningham said they get the most support from ‘military connected’ students, “but if you have no connection and you still want to support the Veterans, they always accept people without military affiliation to come and help. So it just comes down to seeking those groups out on campus and talking to the people involved in them,” Laningham said.

The Lamar Veterans Organization hosts an annual cookout on campus with this year’s cookout taking place on November 14 on the dining hall lawn. Donations were collected for the South East Texas Veterans resource group.

On campus the Lamar Veterans Organization is, “really important because essentially we’re a minority group, and as a minority group, you want people that can help represent you. You want to have a voice in things that involve you. So what you want is representation and the best way to represent someone, is to represent yourself,” Laningham said.

The luncheon was open to Íæż½ã½ã military veterans, active duty members, dependents of veterans, students, faculty, staff and alumni. The Íæż½ã½ã choir performed during the event and the West Brook High School JROTC conducted the presentation of colors and the Pledge of Allegiance.