Fueled By The Fallen

 Just a couple of weeks ago, Vantage Career Center was honored to have the "911 Memorial Car Tour" drive through our parking lot, escorted by the Sheriffs department. If you are not familiar with the Memorial Car Tour, let me explain briefly. Kevyn Major Howard, who is best known for his role as "Rafterman" in the movie "Full Metal Jacket" wanted a way to honor the fallen heroes of 911. Kevyn stated that in this country we always say "never forget our heroes", so he wanted to make sure that we never do forget the heroes of 911. Kevyn started the tour about ten years ago to honor these heroes. There are five Chevy Camaros that represent:  Twin tower #1, Twin tower #2, the Pentagon, Flight 93 in Pennsylvania and one that represents all the first responders who died on that day.  There are nearly 3,000 names inscribed on the five cars that drive in this honor tour. A great short video to watch is here: video

So, how did this tour ever get to Vantage Career Center? Well that is a great question and one that I asked. The answer led me to Joseph Klir, a Senior in our Welding program. Joseph's father is pretty instrumental in the Fort Fest held each year in Ft. Jennings. This is an unusual town festival because it is totally about honoring our war veterans. There are several activities that go on at the festival including Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, the replica Vietnam Memorial Wall and a live War of 1812 re-enactment. About three years ago, Joseph's father heard about the "Fueled by the Fallen" tour and invited them to the Fort Fest. Kevyn Major Howard, who runs the organization got back in touch with Dr. Klir and said he would be there. Well that weekend Joseph, who was about 14 at the time, was in charge of driving Kevyn all around the festival grounds in a golf cart. Well if you know Joseph, he is also a pretty funny guy. Well after driving Kevyn around all weekend, they became really close and good friends. So that leads to this year and the tour stopping at Vantage.

Kevyn is making his last tour this year and will be stepping aside. He began in Washington at the Pentagon, went to New York and then Pennsylvania, making stops all along the way. Well on their way to Las Vegas, he wanted to make one more stop...in Fort Jennings to see Joseph and because he loved the town and what they do to honor veterans. Amy Ricker organizes a lot of the events for the Fort Fest and is familiar with the honor tour. When she heard they were coming to town, she called Joseph and told him that Kevyn was asking to see him. They wanted to drive by Vantage and stop and see Joseph. Well a slight problem arose. Joseph was going to be setting up at MakerFest in Lima around that time with other students from the school. So as the caravan drove through Vantage, they were greeted by all of our students, except Joseph and a few others. When Kevyn heard Joseph wasn't going to be there, he tracked him down. They found Joseph on the bus leaving town and stopped the bus. Kevyn and his wife went up to the window and Joseph pulled down the window and fist pumped Kevyn. However, Joseph and the bus had to leave and Kevyn had other duties. Well to make a long story short, later that day, Kevyn was at the Sheriffs office showing support to the officers. I believe Mr. Turner heard they were up there and that Joseph was back at school then, so he called Mr. Verhoff to take Joseph up to the sheriffs office along with Matt Calvelage (his dad was driving one of the honor cars and Matt was also on the bus with Joseph). They got there in time and Kevyn and Joseph had about a five minute conversation and caught up on the last three years. 

It was really a special moment for Vantage, Joseph, Matt and our entire school. So many times we think of these Hollywood stars as put-offish or self-centered, but Kevyn is a true hero. Not only for what he does for all the fallen heroes of 911 but that he takes time out of his life to remember a special friend he met three years ago. Kevyn takes the time to make others feel better about themselves and to bring comfort to the hurting. His main reason for doing this tour is to set a moral compass for people, to instill values and positive change for our youth today. Kevyn, if you read this, you have accomplished that and more. Thanks for all you do.

Fall Sport Athletes

 Today we allowed our Fall Sport athletes to wear their jerseys and come down to the commons for a group picture. It is always amazing to see how many student athletes we have each year. As you can see by the picture, the number keeps getting bigger and bigger. I believe the reason is that students from their home schools realize that they can attend Vantage and also play sports or be involved in band, cheerleading and other activities. Vantage will do everything and anything to accommodate these students so that they still feel a part of their home school. I myself try to attend some of the sporting events throughout the year and I know several other staff do also. It's a small way to support the students and show them that we are interested in what they do outside of school also. 

One thing that I have always enjoyed seeing is the camaraderie of all the students at lunch time and in the halls. The same players who will be competing against each other on the field Friday night will be sharing a meal and a lot of laughs at lunch. They may joke around or have some friendly bantering going around, but they are always respectful to each other. I think all of us could learn something from that lesson. It seems that these students realize that it is just a game and their careers will be over shortly, but a friendship may last forever. 

 In closing, I just want to say a special thanks to all the student athletes, band members, etc. that chose to come to Vantage. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and when you look at that picture above, you have to be impressed. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work to play any type of sport or cheer or play in band. These are the types of students who are attending Vantage. Leaders, hard workers and students who are committed to a goal. What an impressive picture and what an impressive group of students we have in the Class of 2022 and 2023. Thank you, we truly appreciate all of you!