East Texas A&M University continues its commitment to honoring our nation's veterans with the 35th annual Veterans Vigil, scheduled for November 12 at the Rayburn Student Center (RSC). The community is welcome, and local veterans and their families are encouraged to attend.

The event will begin with a breakfast reception at 10 a.m., followed by the opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. This year's ASTP Scholarship recipient is Bianca Santiago, U.S. Army Veteran. This year's guest speaker is Dr. Fred Fuentes, U.S. Army Veteran and Executive Director for University Partnerships at East Texas A&M University. Following the opening remarks, the ceremony will move outside of the RSC for the lighting of the vigil flame by Howard Pierson, Insurance and Risk Manager at East Texas A&M University and a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Attendees are invited back to the vigil flame for the closing ceremony at 4:30 p.m., which will include a 21-gun salute from the Hunt County Veterans Honor Guard.

To further acknowledge our military veterans, there will be a free lunch at the Lions Mane Cafeteria on November 11.

Veterans must show a valid Military ID, DD214, Veteran's card, VFW or American Legion card to receive the free lunch or bookstore discount.

For more information about the Veterans Vigil, visit the Office of Veterans and Military Services webpage or contact Assistant Director of Veteran Services Dustin Pearson at Dustin.Pearson@tamuc.edu.

Speaker bio: Dr. Fred Fuentes is originally from Corpus Christi. He served as an Army soldier with several war-tested Military Police Battalions. He is a proud Dragon Fighter alumni, having served with the 504th Military Police Battalion in Panama during Operations Safe Haven and Safe Passage with the 170th MP Company. He has earned degrees and certificates from TAMU-Corpus Christi, Pierce County College, Del Mar College, TAMU-Commerce, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the Harvard School of Public Health. He served as the Lead International Office for USAID in Washington DC before returning to the university in 2015. He serves as Executive Director for University Partnerships with the President’s Office.