Superintendent Peter Livingston, third from left, presents the district's veterans award to Middle High School teacher Cynthia Parker, left, as Assistant Superintendent Olga Fisher, second from left, and SSG Brendan Tucker, SFC Teresa McCormick and 1LT Christopher Lara look on. Photo by Peter Day
Three members of the U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Victorville on Tuesday, November 10th helped hand out special awards to the 10 military veterans employed by the Lucerne Valley Unified School District. Earlier, each veteran received an annual $1,000 stipend, which the district has given as a gesture of appreciation to all of its veterans since 2023.
SFC Teresa McCormick, SSG Brendan Tucker and 1LT Christopher Lara met Superintendent Peter Livingston, Assistant Superintendent Olga Fisher, Lucerne Valley Middle High School Assistant Principal Regina Bell and office manager Adriana Barajas met in the office of LVMHS Principal Jason Story (U.S. Navy, 1998-2001). The group then made the rounds, first presenting certificates to school counselor Kevin Barda (California Army National Guard, 1991-1994), campus security/coach Joe Gallardo (U.S. Navy, 1992-2013) and Mr. Story in the quad. Next, the group visited the classrooms of teacher Louis Madrid (U.S. Marine Corps, 2010-2014), teacher Cynthia Parker (California State Military Reserve - Army, 2013-2016), military science teacher Jacob Klinger (U.S. Army, 2005-2010), and teacher Gary Cope (U.S. Marine Corps, 1995-2000).
Awardees: Joe Gallardo, Jason Story and Kevin Barda. Joining the presenters is Assistant Principal Regina Bell, left.
Recipient: Louis Madrid
Recipient: Jacob Klinger
Recipient: Gary Cope
The group then moved over to Lucerne Valley Elementary School where they presented certificates to bus driver Larry Kennedy (U.S. Air Force, 2003-2005), teacher Sheri Immel (U.S. Air Force, 1991-1995) and teacher Chris Jennison (U.S. Navy, 1986-1992). Principal Joana Mora and Director of Transportation Kimberly Snow joined the entourage.
Recipient: Larry Kennedy. Joining the presenters is Director of Transportation Kimberly Snow, second from right.
Recipient: Sheri Immel
Recipient: Chris Jennison
The idea for the annual $1,000 stipend for school district veterans came after longtime school board member Tom Courtney and a group of other school board members and educators from 15 school districts who comprised the Veteran Task Force Group brainstormed on ideas for honoring school employees who have served in the military.
“Our dream is to bring our veterans back into our classrooms, maintenance, bus drivers, custodians, management, and all areas of our district,” said Courtney who served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. “These folks served our country and now deserve our respect and acceptance back into our communities with the honor they deserve.”
During the presentation in middle high school teacher Jacob Klinger’s classroom, SSG Brendan Tucker expressed how much he appreciated the guidance Klinger gives his students and added that Lucerne Valley USD’s $1,000 stipend to its military veterans is the only such display of appreciation to its veterans.
The Lucerne Valley USD’s first such veterans recognition event on November 9, 2023 was an emotion-packed ceremony in the Middle High School’s Sgt. Brian Walker Memorial Gymnasium, which was named in memory of 2005 LVHS graduate Brian Walker. Walker died after his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device on May 13, 2012.