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2007-2008 LETTER TO PARENTS
Dear Parents and Friends of the Daniel Boone MCJROTC Family,
This year is a time of transition and dramatic change for our program. As most of you know the high school is undergoing major renovation and expansion. We are extremely excited to be a part of the construction project. When all of the work is done on our building the MCJROTC will be expanded by over 400 percent of our current facilities. We will be adding a second classroom, a dedicated supply room and a drill deck / range that will allow us to conduct a year-round marksmanship program and a drill area that isn’t dependent on fair weather conditions. If all goes as planned we hope to be installed in these facilities by Thanksgiving, 2007.
For years, our cadets have been exceptional ambassadors of Daniel Boone High School and the Marine Corps. They exemplify what pride and self-discipline can do for a person, school, and community. This year is no different. The cadet battalion has again embarked on an ambitious schedule of competition and public service. By mid-October, 2007, the cadets will have exceeded 1,000 hours of school and community service projects. We have over 50 new cadets in the program this academic year, and the upperclassmen have already begun developing the leadership skills of their cadets as they groom them for future responsibilities and authority.
The drill team continues to be the “backbone” of Daniel Boone’s MCJROTC having won over 300 trophies and medals in the past ten years. This year’s team faces new challenges as they attempt to continue the string of consecutive meet championships into a fifth year. Proven commanders like Andrea Sessis and Joshua Sadler will anchor the team while a host of rising stars among the sophomore and junior classes begin to assert their skills in precision drill.
The opening of the new marksmanship range will afford our shooters the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with other teams that have had their own facilities for years. The development of this team has been a long awaited dream. We should be hearing a lot more about their successes in the near future.
Developing personal skills that lead to success in life and giving back to one’s community are what Daniel Boone’s program are all about. You can be proud to know that our cadets’ contribution of over 6,000 man-hours of service last year spearheaded the program’s designation as a Naval Honor School for the ninth consecutive year.
Recognition of a job well done is part and parcel of developing leaders. Daniel Boone’s cadets once again excelled in this arena. Nineteen cadets were acknowledged as outstanding leaders in Who’s Who Among American High School Students. Cadet Amanda Gilliam was recognized as one of five cadets nationwide to receive the Legion of Valor Bronze Cross for Achievement. The Legion of Valor is an organization of recipients of the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and the Navy Cross, America’s three highest awards for valor in combat. Four cadets, Amanda Gilliam, Andrea Sessis, Megan Thornburg, and LeAnn Tolley were selected to attend the Tennessee Governor’s School during the summer of 2007. To round out the list, 46 percent of all DBHS cadets were made the academic honor roll. GREAT JOB!
Semper Fi,
Steven M. Sessis
Major, USMC (Ret)
Senior Marine Instructor