As Shelby Township honors local veterans Nov. 10 with hot dogs and apple pie, the only thing missing from the Township’s Veterans Day Homecoming Celebration is a baseball game.
The event will feature live patriotic music from Music Makers Studio, located at 2 55119 Shelby Road in Shelby Township, DJ Malik, the Shelby Township Fire Department’s bounce house, a visit from the Mean Weenie hot dog food truck and Yates Cider Mill selling its world-famous apple pie from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Township band shell at 52700Van Dyke Ave.
“We wanted to provide an event that was a celebration of our veterans, and we wanted to capture a celebration of all things America,” Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said.
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“We want to revisit the joy and emotions felt by veterans and their families when they return home from service,” Veterans Events Coordinator Phil Randazzo said. “And for past veterans, who did not have a warm welcome when they returned home, we want them to be able to experience a celebration and our community’s gratitude as well.”
The celebration replaces the traditional Veterans Day Ceremony hosted by the Township, which was similar to the Memorial Day Ceremony held every spring.
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“The Memorial Day Ceremony is an occasion to remember and honor our fallen soldiers,” Randazzo said. “And, on Veterans Day, we celebrate the men and women who served our nation and were blessed enough to make it back home to their families and friends.”
The Homecoming Celebration, which is sponsored by the Shelby Township Lions Club, will incorporate elements of the traditional ceremony with the choir from the Lakeside Assembly of God performing at 1:30 p.m. before Pastor Phil Krist provides a speech and prayer.
“We’re taking the event that we had previously and expanding it,” Stathakis said. “By bringing in the bands, the food truck, the apple pie and our bounce house, we will me making this an event that the entire family can come to, have fun at, enjoy a hot dog and a slice of pie, and say ‘thank you’ to the veterans who sacrificed so that we can have a nation with the freedoms that we all enjoy.”
There will also be registration available for the Nov. 17 Veterans Memorial 5K run/walk, which races around the Township Grounds at 52700 Van Dyke Ave. and the adjacent Mae Stecker Park, at the celebration. The 5K course is 100 percent handicap accessible to accommodate all of the community's military heroes and proceeds from the race will benefit the Shelby Township Veterans Memorial.
“The race registration fee is $20, and that covers official timing, medals for winners, and a keepsake t-shirt,” Randazzo said, noting registration fee is waived for veterans thanks to a generous donation from the Shelby Township Athletic Club. “All of the proceeds from the 5K will go toward our Veterans Memorial for enhancements and maintenance as well as events like hosting our Memorial Day and Veterans Day activities.”
The Shelby Township Veterans Memorial run has been certified by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports. By registering for and participating in the Shelby Township Veterans Memorial run you are entered into a lottery to run the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day 2014. Registration can also be found at www.shelbytwp.org.
