Several communities in Morrow County will celebrate Memorial Day with parades and ceremonies honoring veterans.

The Mount Gilead Memorial Day Parade will form at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, May 27, at the Cherry Street School. Starting time for the parade is 1 p.m. The Memorial Day service will be followed by a brief ceremony at Veteran’s Park by the Morrow County Courthouse.

The parade will leave the Cherry Street School, following West Union Street, east to Main Street, then south on Main Street to Marion Street, turning left on Marion Street and proceeding east on Marion Street to the River Cliff Cemetery. Ceremonies at the cemetery will begin at 1:30 p.m.

The speaker at both the River Cliff and Bryn Zion Memorial Day services will be Lt. Col. Jennifer Kimmey. After receiving her commission in May 1990 in the Regular Army, she completed the Finance and Accounting Officer Basic Course at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Her first assignment was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with the 18th Finance Group where she served as a project officer resolving the Desert Storm Disbursing Account and Detachment.

During this assignment, she deployed to Operation Uphold Democracy at GITMO in 1992 for the Haitian Refugee Crisis and Joint Task Force Bravo Honduras in 1993. Following the Finance Officer Advanced Course again at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Kimmey was assigned to the 266th Finance Command in Heidelberg, Germany. During this assignment, she deployed with 1st Armored Division to Operation Joint Endeavour-Balkan Peacekeeping Mission.

Kimmey completed her master’s degree at the Naval Postgraduate School in Political Science and served at National Ground Intelligence Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, as the brigade executive officer. She also served as Military Attache at five U.S. embassies in Africa and Central America while also conducting foreign military sales to our partner countries. Later, she returned to the Finance Corps with an assignment to SHAPE Headquarters in Mons, Belgium, managing the U.S. Treasury account for U.S. NATO.

Kimmey concluded her 24-year career serving at SOUTHCOM in Miami, Florida, as the security cooperation caribbean desk officer, creating infrastructure projects and training. During this period, she deployed to Operation Unified Response-Joint Task Force Haiti after the earthquake, serving on the Commander’s Action Group, filled a gap at the U.S. Embassy in Belize, and deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom, where she served a s the RC-North Rule of Law Team Chief developing judicial infrastructure.

Awards and decorations given to Kimmey include Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Serve Medal, NATO Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Parachutist Badge. She completed language training at the Defense Language Institute in French and Portuguese.

Following her retirement, a new career in teaching begins for Kimmey this fall. Her two children are Charles Shearer, currently an Ensign in the Navy who will be concluding medical school at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and Samuel Shearer, who is currently a hydraulic mechanic in the boating industry in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She has returned to Mount Gilead where she was raised and graduated from Mount Gilead High School.

The Color Guard and Firing Squad, commanded by Mike McKinney, will participate in several Memorial Day services. Members include Bill Mills, Steve Montell, Richard Braddock, Erick Shaffer, Matthew Casler, Sam Beal, Mike McKinney, Jerry Jagger, Brenda Harden, Gary Baker, Don Broadwater, David Broadwater and Don Broadwater Jr., members of the Nelson E. Campbell, Jr. V.F.W. Post 8054; Gary Dilsaver, Alan Forry, Chad Remy, Sam Reeve and Dustin Stark, members of the Mount Gilead AMVETS Post 87.

Pastor Jeff Canankamp, of Trinity United Methodist Church in Mount Gilead, will give the invocation and the roll call, Cub Scouts Pack 56 of Mount Gilead will place the flowers, and bagpipe selection will be by Liam Stalander with selections by the Mount Gilead Marching Band.

For more information concerning parade participation, the contact person is Daniel L. Fricke, coordinator, at 419-947-9437.

Parade and program participants and their families are invited to a luncheon at the V.F.W. Post 8054, 4960 State Route 61, following the ceremony.

Several other Memorial Day services in Morrow County include:

• Sunday, May 26: There will be a parade and ceremony at 11:30 a.m. at Marion Salem United Methodist Church.

• Sunday, May 26: Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at Shauck Cemetery, Johnsville.

• Sunday, May 26: Ceremony at 2:30 p.m. at North Fork Cemetery, County Road 22.

• Monday, May 27: Ceremony at 9 a.m. at Chesterville Maple Grove Cemetery.

• Monday, May 27: Ceremony at Bryn Zion Cemetery, 5615 U.S. Route 42 N, Mount Gilead at 10:30 a.m. with speaker Jennifer Kimmey.

Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel. She can be reached at [email protected].