The Kiwanis Community Salutes of Northwest Indiana's Salute the Recruits Dinner serves to recognize high school graduates who are going into the military. The dinner allows recruits to bring their families into this part of their lives before beginning their journeys at basic training.
“This program was started by John Bowker in 2013 when he realized that the kids who are very academically inclined received scholarships and recognition, and the kids that are athletically inclined get leather jackets and recognition. The young men and women that are going into the military were getting no recognition,” said Lenny Corso, Co-Chair of the Northwest Indiana Salute the Recruits event. “We wanted to be sure that these kids got the recognition that they deserve from each one of the branch services.”
The recruits that attended the event were very appreciative of the recognition that was being given. Xavier Rochon is joining the Navy, and although he is not an athlete, he was still able to be recognized in front of his close family members.
“It feels good because I'm not a D-1 athlete or anything, so it's nice to be recognized for something that I'm willingly doing and serving my country,” Rochon said.
Shane Stratton said he is joining the Marines because they don’t give up, they have great mental attitudes, and they are motivators. The recognition that this event brings the recruits creates a sense of appreciation as well as belonging within their respective branches.
“It makes me feel really appreciated; it actually makes me feel like a part of something – like I belong here,” Stratton said.
After beginning this event, countless students and future military members were able to be recognized and share a meaningful night with their families. This event is the only one of its kind in Indiana - people even had to be turned away due to the high demand to attend.
“We are now part of a national organization called our community salutes. We're doing 40 of these all over the country, and we're the only one within 150 miles of here. We're the only one in Indiana, and we're looking to expand,” Founder and Co-Chair of the Northwest Indiana Salute the Recruits event John Bowker said. “Tonight we have 280 people here to recognize 45 recruits and roughly 100 parents or family members are here. Our local service clubs, Kiwanis and Rotary, have stepped up big time.”
This event was put on with the help of many. Local Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs came together to make this event possible.
“The community, the Valparaiso Kiwanis, the Valparaiso Rotary Club, the Michigan City Rotary Club, the Laporte Rotary Club, Porter County foundation, and many others have been very, very supportive, which allows us to take care of the family members as well as the recruits for this wonderful dinner,” Corso said.
Nathan Collins attended Washing Township High School alongside five other recruits that attended the event, and he is joining the Infantry Branch of the Army. He was able to share this day with his family members that were excited to learn more about his future and share the beginning of the journey with him.
The recruits being able to share such an important part of their lives with their close family is extremely important. Arion Davis is joining the Air Force and he was eager and excited to be able to take the opportunity to share this part of his life with his loved ones.
“You don't really get a lot of experiences where you can bring your family into it because you're gone for so long when you join the Air Force or any branch of the military. This is one of those experiences that I can share with my loved ones,” Davis said.
The main speaker and two of his colleagues flew in from the Pentagon in Washington D.C. that morning in order to be in attendance at this event. Colonel David A. Grant spoke about his experiences during his time in the Army and also spoke about the beginning of his military career that began in Indiana.
“This is the state where I actually started my military career. After I graduated from West Point, Fort Benjamin in Harrison, Indiana was my first duty station,” Grant said. “To me, it was a big deal coming back home after over 20 years and especially to come back to Indiana to recognize the young women and men who've made the commitment to enlist into the military service.”
Jane Hartsell has made the commitment to join the Air Force. She has a lot of family members who have been in the Army, but she decided to stray away from that path and serve the country as a member of the Air Force.
“My biggest reason is I'm here to serve the people. That's my biggest thing. I don't care about anything else. I'd rather just serve the people and do what I can to help the world be a better place.” Hartsell said.
Because she is a woman, she has faced some criticism in deciding to join the military. A classmate of hers made a comment to her regarding how he thought that women should not be allowed to be in the military, so she took that as motivation to push herself even harder and do even better.
“I'm a woman doing what most men my age cannot do. I'm respectful of everyone and anyone but the fact that he felt the need to make that comment made me want to do what I'm doing even more and do it better than he thinks I can,” she said.
This event allows for recruits to share an important part of their lives with their close family members as well as listen to the experiences of people currently in the military, or veterans. The Kiwanis Community Salutes of Northwest Indiana Salute the Recruits Dinner will continue to be an annual event in the future.
“We're looking forward to doing it again every year. And this is our seventh annual event, and we look forward to doing many more,” Bowker said.