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Veterans’ summit at Lyndon State College on March 10

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Governor Phil Scott and Representative Peter Welch are scheduled to speak at the sixth annual Northeast Kingdom Veterans Summit on Saturday, March 10, at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon (NVU-Lyndon, formerly Lyndon State College). The summit is Vermont’s only such event.

The 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. summit, free for veterans and their families, will be at Alexander Twilight Theatre. A concert by the Vermont National Guard’s Fortieth Army Band, from 2 to 3 p.m. at the theater, will be free and open to the public. The summit is part of a weekend-long tribute to veterans that includes the fifth annual Ian Muller Rail Jam ski and snowboard competition and free lift tickets at Burke Mountain in East Burke.

The summit keynote will be given by Mark Fountain of Honor Flight New England, a New Hampshire-based nonprofit that transports World War II and Korean War veterans to memorial sites in Washington, D.C. Other speakers include Matthew Mulcahy from the Department of Veterans Affairs White River Junction Medical Center, former Marine and Purple Heart recipient Thomas Whorl, and Melissa Jackson from the Vermont Veterans’ Home.

Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding and Northern Vermont Univeristy President Elaine Collins also will make remarks.

Breakout sessions will focus on veterans’ homelessness, farming, and other job opportunities for veterans, female veterans, and other topics. The event will include counseling and telemedicine services for combat veterans, assistance for homeless veterans, and veteran-service vendors.

The NVU-Lyndon Veterans Association coordinates the summit. NVU-Lyndon is ranked the top military-friendly school among small public colleges and universities in the United States in Victory Media’s 2018 “Military Friendly Schools” list.

Also on March 10, the Ian Muller Rail Jam and an awards ceremony afterward will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. at Burke Mountain. Proceeds from the jam will benefit NVU-Lyndon’s Ian Muller Memorial Scholarship for student-veterans. Mr. Muller, a Marine, attended NVU-Lyndon (then Lyndon State College) before being killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2011.

On Sunday, March 11, Burke Mountain will offer free lift tickets for veterans with proof of service and their family members. To make a reservation, call Burke Mountain at 626-7300.

Pre-registration for the summit is required. Go to lyndonstate.edu/veteranssummit to register. For more information, call 626-6346, or e-mail [email protected]. — from Northern Vermont University.

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