Slippery Rock University is hosting its annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 11, at the Russell Wright Alumni House.

The event is free and open to the public and kicks off the university's Military Appreciation Week activities. Veterans are invited to attend a lunch immediately following the ceremony at the Alumni House.

The Veterans Day ceremony will begin inside the Alumni House and conclude outside at the Alumni Veterans Memorial adjacent to the building.

The alumni speaker is Chris Thrasher, '23, who served in the U.S. Army for 12 years, rising to the rank of sergeant, with two deployments to Afghanistan. He first enrolled at SRU in 2006 before enlisting in the Army and returning to the university in the spring of 2021 to complete his degree in criminology and criminal justice.

During his time at SRU, Thrasher was a senator in the Student Government Association and president of the Student Veterans of America, among many other activities and groups. Outside of campus, he's been active in his community with the American Legion and VFW and as a volunteer firefighter, Girl Scout troop leader, and certified PIAA sports referee and official, and he worked part time for the YMCA and as an inspector of elections for the Mercer County Board of Elections. A resident of Hermitage, Thrasher works as a shift supervisor at a corrections center in Ohio managed by CoreCivic.

As part of the ceremony, members of the SRU Army ROTC will raise the colors, lay a wreath and fire a 21-gun salute. Lt. Col. Brett Boyle, professor of military science, will recognize enlisted cadets.

Micah Henry, a sophomore computing major from Pittsburgh, will provide remarks on behalf of student veterans. Emma Hicks, a senior music performance major from Homestead, will sing the national anthem and “God Bless America.” D.J. Lucidore, a senior park and resource management major from Bethel Park, will perform “Taps.”

The Veterans Day ceremony and lunch is organized by SRU's Office of Alumni Engagement and the Office for Inclusive Excellence.

In addition to the Veterans Day events, the office is coordinating four more events at SRU to celebrate Military Appreciation Week.

At 5 p.m. Monday in the Smith Student Center, Room 322, Mary Chitwood will be the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Speaker. Chitwood, is an Army veteran and executive director of Robin's Home, a nonprofit organization based in Butler and dedicated to serving veterans and their families. Chitwood's appearance is part of SRU’s “Power of Stories Series.”

At 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Smith Student Center Lobby, there will be a table where clothing donations will be accepted for veteran and sexual violence resources.

At noon on Thursday in The Quad, there will be a Coffee with Vets event where people on campus can meet with veterans from the SRU campus community.

Friday is Red Day when everyone in the SRU community is encouraged to wear red to Remember Everyone Deployed and share an image on Instagram by tagging @sruoie.

Justin Zackal is a communication specialist with Slippery Rock University.