To commemorate the courage and sacrifice of American veterans, Gordon Cooper Technology Center and American Legion Post 16 are conducting an area Veterans Day observance at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 11 at GCTC.

The observance will be held outdoors on the north side of the main campus by the flagpole. In case of inclement weather, the observance will take place in the GCTC seminar center. The observance is free and open to the public.

Keynote speaker for the observance is Fran Topping. Fran Topping is the Management Development Coordinator for Gordon Cooper Technology Center and retired from the Oklahoma Army National Guard.

Her 20 years of service spanned diverse occupational specialties, from medical to signal to mobilization and emergency operations. At Reynolds Army Hospital in San Antonio, she helped care for service members injured in the Grenada Invasion and the bombing of the Beirut barracks.  Here in Oklahoma, she was a fulltime soldier and worked in the emergency operations center during Desert Storm, floods, tornadoes, fires, droughts, aircraft crashes, counterdrug operations, and the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.

Emcee for the event will be Gordon Cooper Technology Center Superintendent Marty Lewis.

Children from Shawnee Early Childhood Center led by Principal Jesse Hernandez will lead the flag salute and perform recitations. GCTC staffer Gloria Wallace will perform the National Anthem.

American Legion Post 16 will conduct a wreath laying ceremony to honor America’s war dead. Oklahoma Baptist University students will sound taps.