Friday evening, Jan 27, ROTC members assisted in food prep and service for the SE Chapter, 14th Armored Division (WWII) annual Banquet at American Legion Post 129. Cadets participating were Ashely Nicks, Donald Murray, Lizette Mercado, Stacy Mercado and Michael Horn.
January 2006 - (by Col. Brown) The Air Force Junior ROTC Drill Teams competed at Springstead High School this past weekend. The Silver Eagle Drill Team commanded by Cadet First Lt. Stephen Gambala competed against 18 teams from throughout the state winning Best Overall Drill Team and Best Drill Commander. The Silver Eagle Color Guard team commanded by Cadet Captain Donald Murray competed against 28 teams winning Best Overall Color Guard and Best Color Guard Commander. Sandalwood won the prestigious award as Best Overall School. The Blue Eagle Drill & Color Guard Teams, our JV teams, commanded by Cadet 1st Lt Gregory Lightfoot and Cadet CMsgt Jesenia Williams placed Second Overall in the senior level competition.
This is the third Drill Competition Sandalwood AFJROTC has entered this school year. They have won Best Drill & Best Overall School in all three competitions. Team members are as follows:
SILVER TEAM: DRILL - Stephen Gambala, Mike Ochoa, Josef Henn, James Atkins, Phil Robbs, Ruthie Coursey, Rachel Coursey, Ashley Nicks, Candice Carmichael, Lizette Mercado, Vanessa Bautista, Samantha Ford, Lorie Ballesteros, Ceyda Atkins, Shirley Murray, Angela Avendano.
SILVER TEAM COLOR GUARD - Donald Murray, Tommy Smith, Jeremy Grisso, Michael Horn, Dane Walther.
BLUE EAGLE TEAM: DRILL - Greg Lightfoot, Chris Ocasio, Felipe Sanchez, Josh Encarnacion, Joseph Encarnacion, Rhaymond Osario, Hector Martinez, Darriel Steadman, John Ohlinger, Alvin Ogando, Stacey Mercado, Marjorie Celestino, Victoria Fort, Heather Smith, Courtney Nilles.
BLUE EAGLE TEAM: COLOR GUARD - Jesenia Williams, Vanessa Sheridan, Ray Nicks, Cristina Ficklin, David Lopez.
GOLD EAGLE COLOR GUARD - Deanna Novatasky, Michael D’Angelo, Kevin Otto, Alsinjar Rabulan.
| November 2005 - The Blue Eagles took top honors and Sandalwood is now 2 for 2! They went to Forrest High School in Jacksonville and took overall first place, giving them their second victory in as many tries. The Blue Eagle's outperformed the Silver team to take top honors for the Drill Team Competition. The top three schools for Drill Competition were; 1st - Sandalwood 2 (Blue), 2nd, North Marion, and 3rd, Sandalwood 1 (Silver). Greg Lightfoot, Sandalwood #2 Commander, took the trophy for best Commander. |
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| October 2005 - The Silver Eagles are off to a great start this year! Sandalwood took the overall best team trophy in their first competition this year at Pine Ridge. The Drill Team took 1st in Exhibition, 2nd in Regulation, and 2nd in Inspection. Sandalwood finished 1st ahead of Seminole, West Orange, and Eau Gallie. N.B. Forrest, the other local school there to compete, took 6th overall. The Silver Eagles will be back in action at Forrest in November. |
| |
2005 state and national competition results |
| 2005 State Championships |
| COLOR GUARD |
|
DRILL TEAM |
| Overall |
1st |
|
Overall |
1st |
| Inspection |
2nd |
|
Inspection |
4th |
| Inspection (Special) |
1st |
|
Regulation |
1st |
| Regulation |
4th |
|
Exhibition |
1st |
| Commander |
3rd |
|
Commander |
1st |
|
|
|
|
|
2005 National Championships |
2nd Overall |
| Exhibition |
6th |
|
|
|
| Commander |
1st |
|
|
|
| Inspection |
2nd |
|
|
|
| Regulation |
1st |
|
|
|
| Color Guard |
5th |
|
|
|
|
| |
SANDALWOOD AFJROTC (FL 939)
Feb 2005 – Feb 2006
· Two ROTC Cadets received the Golden Valor Award, the highest obtainable award in Junior ROTC, for rescuing a mother and son from the Atlantic Ocean. They also received the Sons of the American Revolution Heroes Medal
· Four Cadets selected to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Conference, Stetson University
· Five Cadets attended the Air Force Aerospace and Technology Camp at Georgia Tech last summer
· A Cadet attended the Military Order of the World Wars Leadership Conference in Tallahassee
· A Cadet attended the NRA National Youth Leadership Summit in Washington DC
· Six Cadets attended Boys and Girls state held in Tallahassee
· Ten Cadets won essay contests through the Freedoms Foundation and attended the National Youth Leadership Conference in Valley Forge, Pa
We were recently notified, 14 more students were selected to attend the National Conference in Valley Forge next month
· Our ROTC Precision Drill Team won the Air Force Association State Drill Championship last April
· The ROTC Drill Team also competed in Washington DC in the Air Force Junior ROTC National Drill Finals…..they placed second overall.
· Other ROTC Team accomplishments (totaling 32 trophies)
Oct…Pine Ridge High School Drill Competition
* Won Best Overall Drill Team, Best Overall School
Nov….NB Forrest High School Drill Competition
* Won Best Overall Drill Team, Best Overall School
Jan…..Springstead High School Drill Competition
* Won Best Overall Drill Team, Best Overall School
· Headquarters Air Force JROTC named Sandalwood as an Outstanding AFJROTC Unit for 2005
· Headquarters Air Force JROTC named Senior Instructor, Colonel Brown as Outstanding AFJROTC Instructor of the Year.
· The Northeast Chapter of the Air Force Association selected Colonel Brown as Military Instructor of the year for Northeast Florida.
· Other awards received by AFJROTC Cadets over the past 12 months
*Noncommissioned Officers Association recognized six cadets with Military Excellence Awards
* Tuskegee Airman Award received by five cadets
* Air Force Sergeants Association recognized four cadets with special citations, plus another with a special Association Medal
* Purple Heart Association presented a special medal and citation to a cadet
* US Daughters of War of 1812 recognized one of our seniors with a special medallion and certificate
* Camp Blanding Air National Guard presented two cadets with their special Charging Charlie Award
* Lions Club of Arlington named male and female cadets as Citizens of the Year.
Lions Club also donated $1000 to ROTC for field trips.
* National Sojourners and Scottish Rites Masonry each recognized separate cadets
with special medals, ribbons and certificates of excellence
* Veterans of Foreign Wars recognized four cadets for patriotism
* Southpoint Rotary Club presented a special Patriotism and Leadership Award to a
cadet. They also donated $1000 to ROTC
* Military Officers Association of America presented special medals and citations to
two cadets for special academic and leadership performance
* Reserve Officers Association recognized one cadet for excellence with a medal,
ribbon and certificate
* American Veterans presented a medal, ribbon, certificate and $50 savings bond to
a cadet
* Daughters of American Revolution presented a special medallion to one cadet for
patriotism
* American Legion recognized a cadet for military excellence and one for scholastic
excellence
* Order of Daedalians presented one cadet a special medal, ribbon and certificate for
outstanding performance as a cadet
* Air Force Association recognized one cadet for outstanding cadet performance and
patriotism. They also presented the Outstanding Cadet of the Year the prestigious
Falcon Award, which included a $1000 stipend.
· Other FL 939 unit accomplishments
* Three Leadership Seminars were conducted at Moody AFB recreational facility over past year. Project X type team building exercises are developed and conducted by Colonel Brown and student leaders.
* Unit performs many community service events/projects, such as
-- Sulzbacher Homeless Center-three occasions worked the evening meal(food
prep/service)
-- Assisted Southpoint Rotary in packing over 50 computers for shipment to
schools in Columbia
-- Provides 90% of staffing for Cystic Fibrosis ‘Great Strides’ Walk at Hannah
Park every Spring. Last year event raised $60,000 for Cystic Fibrosis
-- Arranged Eye exam and purchased glasses for two students
-- Always supports needy families during holidays. Last season, FL 939 assisted
five families(11 children) with food and gifts
-- Continues support of Annie Bell, 89 year old who has outlived her relatives,
(reference next page)
Sandalwood AFJROTC
Annie Bell Project
I am Cadet Maj. Sean Whisman and I am the Bravo Squadron Commander here at FL-939. I just wanted to start out by saying; there once was a little old lady who lived in a shoe…well, not exactly. Annie Bell, who is 89 years old, did live in very poor conditions. She didn’t have a kitchen sink, her stove wasn’t working, and she had no hot water heater. Many of her window panes were also broken.
Fortunately for her, we here at FL-939 have learned that lending a helping hand provides a great service to the community. Colonel Brown found her about ten years ago in a small rural area and she was living in atrocious conditions. He came back and asked the cadets to take up the challenge and we did. It took us no time at all to make a difference.
The cadets got involved in the Annie Bell Project as part of our extensive community service routine. We collected funds to buy and install a water heater, a kitchen sink, and a stove into her home. Many of her window panes were missing, so those had to be repaired immediately. We keep her windows covered with heavy plastic for insulation year around. These window repairs must be done almost every visit. We also bought her an electric blanket and always restock her refrigerator with food. Recently, we also helped repair her toilet and her floor when it collapsed. This was the second floor we helped repair. When Colonel Brown found her, the front porch was also collapsed.
Our Cadet Corps adopted Annie Bell and we have been helping improve her quality of life for the past ten years. There is no telling how much money has been donated by me and fellow cadet’s to help pay her bills and unexpected repairs, especially her gas bill. We visit Annie Bell once every couple of months to see how we could be of service to her, which ties in with the Air Force’s second core value of ‘service before self’. We encourage our cadets to get involved in their local communities to produce well-informed and helpful citizens. Our primary goal is to teach our cadets to be better and more productive citizens for America. This teaches citizenship and responsibility. This also teaches us to be thankful for what we have.
