Arts & Culture

rapidcitypost.com

website

Annual Northern Hills We Got Your Six will welcome Veterans Saturday

STURGIS, S.D. – The 7th Annual Northern Hills “We’ve Got Your Six” Veterans Appreciation Fair takes place today at the Sturgis Community Center in Sturgis. The event is free for active military, reserves, National Guard, veterans of all branches and ages, and their families. Julie Malcolm is the chairperson of the Northern Hills We Got Your Six. She talked about how the event got started. “We started seven years ago—actually, a little bit before that—we were preparing for the Stand Down in Rapid City. And we were shopping, as auxiliary members of the American Legion, and the lady I was shopping with said, ‘Why don’t we do something like this in our area for our local veterans.” Malcolm says the event begins at 9:30 with registration, followed by the opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. “We have the local Sturgis Boy Scouts that present the colors. We have an invocation. Of course, we do the Pledge of Allegiance. We will have the Black Hills State University Chamber Choir on hand to sing our national anthem. They’ll also do a second song. We have a POW/MIA remembrance ceremony. And this year, we’re actually having a gentleman speak briefly about suicide avoidance. He will follow up with a more in-depth presentation for people who are interested. And then, of course, we’ll have some general announcements. And after that, we’ll open up the gym, and a free lunch will be served starting at 11:30.” The We Got Your Six event helps veterans by providing resources they need and to inform veterans about benefits they might not know about. “The VA will be on hand, multiple departments, as well as Veteran Service Officers, American Legion and the VFW,: Malcolm says. “But we have a lot of other groups, some of them are run by veterans themselves, and provide services for veterans. This year we have five new groups. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks will be on hand and we have another new group, Memorial Day Mission, who offers services for veterans—yard work, house cleanup, things like that. There’s all kinds of things out there. And, also have the DAV on hand.” The event will also feature a raffle exclusively for veterans. Drawings will happen throughout the event. Malcolm says they have nearly 50 sponsors signed up this year. Share via: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More.

article img