This Week at PLU: Veterans Day, Veterans Resource Fair, Military Appreciation Football Game

On Wednesday morning, the university will host a Veterans Day Celebration. On Saturday morning, it will host the 2nd Annual Resource Fair and Summit for Veterans, Spouses and Dependents. And, on Saturday afternoon, PLU Athletics will welcome service members and their families to the 3rd Annual PLU Military Appreciation Football Game.

Wednesday’s Veterans Day Celebration will be held at 10:30 a.m. in Lagerquist Concert Hall in the Mary Baker Russell Music Center.

The annual event will feature musical performances by the PLU Brass Quintet and Miya Higashiyama; a posting of the colors by the PLU Color Guard; remarks from PLU President Thomas W. Krise, PLU Director of Military Outreach Michael Farnum and Interim University Pastor Rev. John P. Rosenberg; and will be keynoted by Major General James M. Collins ‘78.

Collins is retired from the Army and currently serves as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army and leads an advisory firm engaged in leadership and business consulting with executives in commercial, government and non-profit organizations.

The resource fair provides an opportunity for veterans to meet representatives from a number of local and regional organizations and agencies who are able to address VA benefits and assistance, legal services, education benefits, employment opportunities, post-traumatic stress disorder, housing and a number of other subjects of concern to many local veterans.

There will also be a number of representatives on hand to offer self-care and veteran care resources to spouses and dependent children of veterans.

The fair will take place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Anderson University Center and is co-sponsored by the Tacoma Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Social Action Committee.

Admission to the Military Appreciation Football Game is free to all armed forces veterans, active-duty members and their families. The Lutes will take on the Linfield College Wildcats in their final home game of the season. The game will be played at Sparks Stadium in downtown Puyallup and kicks off at 1 p.m.

PLU has a rich history of working closely with the military community. Located just 4.9 miles from Joint Base Lewis–McChord, PLU ranked fourth among regional universities in the West in the 2015 U.S. News Best Colleges for Veterans list, and PLU has been named one of the top Military Friendly private universities in the country six years in a row by Victory Media.

PLU partners with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to offer unlimited full-tuition, Yellow Ribbon Scholarships to qualified veterans or their dependents. The Yellow Ribbon GI Educational Enhancement Program is a component of the Post-9/11 GI Bill of 2008.

The university’s military collaboration is further evidenced by the significant number of military-affiliated students enrolled at PLU as well as the nationally recognized, award-winning Army ROTC detachment on campus.