If the streets of Marion seemed deserted Wednesday morning, it was because most everybody was in the high school gym. The cadets of McDowell High School's Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) showed their stuff Wednesday before a distinguished audience.
Commander David S. Kemp, commanding officer for Navy recruiting for North and South Carolina, was there for the Titans' ROTC annual inspection. The gym was packed with students and faculty, as well as many members of the School Board, County Commission and City Council.
State Senator Joe Sam Queen, D-Waynesville, and N.C. Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-Marion, were there, as well as Mayor Steve Little, Sheriff Dudley Greene and many others.
Students sang "Proud to be an American" before the cadets took to the floor to show off their precision drilling, both armed and unarmed.
The annual inspection is an important moment for the cadets and their instructors. Following the drilling, awards were presented to several of the more than 100 cadets in the local program.
Kemp spoke enthusiastically about the quality of the cadets and their instruction and the high level of community support.
"Many times," he said, "at many of these inspections, it's the cadets and a few parents and me in a big gym."
Nowhere else, he added, does he see the gym filled with such a proud and enthusiastic crowd.
"What you've got going in Marion and McDowell is something truly special," the commander said.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement