Veterans Day is a chance for every Ram to celebrate and honor those veterans who have served our country. Hillcrest has been blessed as the home of The Freedom Shrine, which has been housed here since it was donated in 2006 by the Woodruff Road Exchange Club. Many students pass it every day, but have no clue what it represents! This year the Media Marketing team decided to do something about that. They started by meeting with Officer Madden, who was already passionate about representing History here at Hillcrest through the Shrine. They then talked with Dr. Jarrett, who pulled in the services of Wittez painting, a company that uses a robot to paint! Together, this group was able to take an outdated and unused Shrine that was overall unknown and turn it into a beautifully painted wall representing some major historical events and documents.
The repainted Freedom Shrine was gifted to Hillcrest as the class gift from the Senior Class of 2024. The Marketing team (Haylee Guilliams, Olivia Brookshire, and Jocelynn Forbes), Officer Madden, and Dr. Jarrett each gave speeches about the importance of the Shrine and what it represents for Hillcrest in front of the Simpsonville Mayor, community members, Veterans, and Legislators.
After the Shrine re-dedication, students, staff, local Veterans, the Mayor, and Legislators all headed to the Auditorium for a Veterans Day presentation hosted by the Rams United club. There, the audience was treated to a program that included speeches from Veterans that work at Hillcrest and their families. The HHS Band played the National Anthem, Hillcrest Senior, John Schoenmaker, performed Taps while the Missing Man Table was presented, the Chorus sang “God Bless America,” and Mr. Causey wrapped up the program singing Proud to be an American!
Overall, this Veteran’s Day here at Hillcrest was full of celebration, History, and comradery and we couldn’t be prouder!
