A Special Guest Speaker/ One of our Upper Parents

     We were so glad to have Sergeant Major Joiner speak to the students about his experiences as he served to protect us by going on his tour of duty.  This visit was arranged by the fourth grade teachers (Kerr and McCafferty) and they invited me (Mrs. Land) to hear the presentation.    There were tears in the eyes of teachers and students as he talked about the Valentine Candy that he received from his daughter while he was overseas......he never opened the candy, wanting it to be a constant reminder of his sweet family back home, and those that he was serving to protect.

      It was interesting to hear Sergeant Major Joiner tell about the foods that he ate and about the backpack ministry he started. The children overseas had very few supplies for learning.  Sergeant Major Joiner realized that and started a campaign to make sure that they had what they needed to get a good education.   For the most part, you could have heard a pin drop as he spoke about some of the things that he encountered.  The students listened attentively to each word and were especially excited to see samples of items brought back from his tour of duty.

  It was wonderful to hear about the special book, HIS BIBLE, that he depended on to get him through each day.

  He became emotional when he told about how much he had missed his family, and how thankful he was that he came home safely to them.  After he spoke, his children were eager to pose with their dad!

 This was a very interesting and informative visit from a very special dad. His children, who are Kosciusko Upper students, were grinning from ear-to-ear with pride for their dad.