Scholarship to help journey of honor
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Emerson Joly was honored to accept the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse scholarship and she intends to carry on protecting the freedoms that veterans secured for Americans as she continues her education, eventually, at West Point.
“America is a nation built upon veterans who carry a burden and a story deeper than themselves. One that a uniform cannot fully tell. These veterans committee themselves to service and it is essential that we, as Americans, commemorate them as such, Not just on holidays for moments of applause, but in the daily actions we take.”
She said: “Sitting among members of the Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse for hours over the summer, hearing stories of humor, loss and lessons brought me to recognize how deeply service runs at its core. It does not end when the uniform is retired. It continues throughout everyday life and community leadership and memory. That recognition became the catalyst for Joly’s project – a book on the stories local vets were willing to tell her.
She honors veterans and their sacrifices every day. “I have fostered the lessons they have taught me and the honor I carry. For their lives shape how I conduct my daily decisions, whether in school, in leadership roles or in how I treat others.”
“Our nation survives through veterans. I will continue to ensure that this sacrifice is honored every day, not just by myself or through speeches and conversation, but in the life I choose to life and the daily opportunities I provide others.
In addition to Joly, the coffeehouse presented scholarships to veterans Richard Labonte, Hector Farias, Caleb Mantzios, Nicholas Polaino, Ryan Parnell, David Squadrito.
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caption:
Danielson Veterans Coffeehouse Scholarship Winners were honored June 23. Emerson Joly, right. Veteran winners, above. Linda Lemmon photos.