BUHL, Idaho — Veterans Day events have a long tradition in Magic Valley schools. Buhl Middle School Principal Kayla Kelly has been an educator in the Magic Valley for 21 years, and says most schools have some kind of event to honor veterans.
- Veteran Melanie Rediker of Buhl gave a keynote speech, recounting several of the earliest veterans to be buried in the Snake River National Cemetery.
- Rediker has long been involved in supporting veteran's mental health, and says "the best thing that people can do to honor a veteran is really just thank them and listen to them."
- Buhl area veterans were invited to attend a program at the middle school on Friday, Nov. 8, featuring a choir performance, a slideshow of area veterans, and a presentation of handmade plaques and cards from Buhl FFA.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Melanie Rediker left her home in Kimberly to serve in Iraq in 2003. Now a Buhl resident, she gave the keynote speech at the Veterans Day event at Buhl Middle School.
"It is an honor," Rediker said. "I know there's a lot of mental health that goes along with being a veteran, and it's events like this that make me feel like everything I've done has been worth it."
Veterans were invited to a school assembly, where they were treated to a choir performance. Buhl FFA students came over from the high school to present veterans with metal plaques and thank you cards they made.
"I think it's important for students to see faces and understand, really, what a veteran is," Principal Kayla Kelly told me.
Kelly has been an Idaho educator for 21 years, and every November Veterans Day events have a special focus in Magic Valley schools.
"Every year most of the districts do something for Veterans Day," Kelly said. "Whether it's something in the classroom, to honor the veterans writing letters that sort of thing. This is the first time our school has done it just exclusively for Buhl Middle School and so it was fun to do that."
"I think the best thing that people can do to honor veterans is really just thank them and listen to them. Hear their story. Retell their stories," Rediker said. "Because their stories are what makes America what it is."
