Color Guard

The Western Maryland College Color Guard will present the colors for the Orioles-Chicago White Sox baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Wednesday.The five-member guard of cadets from the college's Army ROTC program will conduct the ceremony during the singing of the national anthem. Three color bearers and two guards will present the U.S. and Maryland flags, as well as the green and gold colors of Western Maryland College.Color Guard members are William T. Futch, Kimberly A. Haker, Edward T. Larkin, Ann K. Reen and Michael P. Rudnick.

Members of American Legion Post 60 will dispose of unserviceable flags in a Flag Day ceremony Thursday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at the Post, 2 Main St. The ceremony is sponsored by the Post 60 color guard. Local Boy and Girl Scouts will help with the flag disposals with supervision by members of the Laurel Fire Department. For information, call 301-725-2302.

Theirs was a season that almost wasn't. For the 12 members of the South Carroll High School color guard, the season started in January with no coach, no sponsor, no routine and no place to practice. On their own, the girls choreographed a program and set it to music. They scheduled practices and entered six competitions in Maryland and Pennsylvania. They did not win, place or show, but they remained undeterred, driven by their love for their sport. "I admire them," said Carol Bieler, vice president of Keystone Indoor Drill Association, which organizes regional competitions for about 50 teams in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The Towson University Student Government Association and TU's Veterans Services group will host the first Military Appreciation Day on Monday, April 23, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at the school's Burdick Field. The event will include family-friendly attractions including a rock wall, Humvee, Bungee trampoline and an inflatable obstacle course, sponsored by the Loyola University/Towson University ROTC. The official dedication ceremony that recognizes and honors Towson University military students, past and present, will begin at 3:30 p.m. adjacent to Burdick Hall.

Sgt. 1st Class Rosalyn D. Peterkin knows how to handle high-stress work. She has twice been deployed to Iraq. She has earned a reputation at Fort Meade, her home military base, as a top-flight volunteer counselor for at-risk teens. She has raised three kids as a single mother. But ask Peterkin, 36, an instructor at the Defense Information School on the base, about what she does in her limited spare time, and she can barely conceal her emotions. "I don't care what the occasion is, who requested us or if I have to get up at 3 in the morning," says Peterkin, the leader of a tightly knit outfit, the DINFOS Color Guard, whose job is to present Old Glory and four service flags at public events in displays of precision pageantry.

Parent Leadership Conference slated Saturday in Gambrills Anne Arundel County public schools' first Parent Leadership Conference is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Carver Staff Development Center in Gambrills. The conference will feature Harvey Perkins, director of the Urban Learning and Leadership Center, as the keynote speaker. The offices of the superintendent, volunteer programs and staff development are sponsoring the conference at no cost to participants. Those planning to attend are asked to call the Office of Volunteer Programs to register.

Pre-game program(Starts at 9 a.m.) March-on by 4,000 Army Cadets, followed by march-on of 4,000 Navy Midshipmen. Football teams warm up. Presentation of colors by Naval Academy Color Guard and the Department of Connecticut, VFW Color Guard, for national anthem by Naval Academy Glee Club. "Prisoner exchange" of students who have spent the fall semester at their rival academy so they may sit with classmates. Navy "Leap Frogs" and Army "Black Knights" parachute teams perform an acrobatic parachute demonstration.

Members of American Legion Post 60 will dispose of unserviceable flags in a Flag Day ceremony Thursday, June 14 at 6 p.m. at the Post, 2 Main St. The ceremony is sponsored by the Post 60 color guard. Local Boy and Girl Scouts will help with the flag disposals with supervision by members of the Laurel Fire Department. For information, call 301-725-2302.

The Annapolis City Color Guard (above) led a procession from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to the Maryland Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Annapolis on Monday during a Freedom Walk in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Below, St. Mary's Elementary School pupils led a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Left, Alexis and Joe Regier of Annapolis participate in a community singalong.

On November 16, 2007, JOHN QUERFURTH, JR., (United States Army Veteran and a long time member of the Boumi Temple Color Guard) of Parkville, beloved husband of Jean Querfurth (nee Schmidt) loving father of Cheryl Bean and husband Kevin; dear brother of Pauline Purkins; god-father of Furth Purkins; cherished grandfather of Kara, Kevin, Jr., and Katelynn; his mother in law, Frances A. Schmidt; also Jean's sons and grandchildren. Family and friends will honor John's life at the family owned Evans Funeral Chapel and Cremation Services-Parkville, 8800 Harford Road on Monday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9P.M.

It was a beautiful Saturday — crisp but not cold and sunny with just enough breeze — to walk over the grounds of the Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air and to pay homage to America's veterans and learn quite a lot about what it means to serve in defense of the nation. The expectations for the final day of Bel Air's three-day Veterans Day celebration were largely fulfilled, the organizers of Saturday's events at Liriodendron said. The weather cooperated, all the exhibitors showed up and, most importantly, so did the community.

Harford County will hold a special observance in Bel Air to honor of the service of veterans to our country for Veterans Day 2011 which this year falls on 11-11-11. A three-days of special events will run from Thursday through Saturday. There will be patriotic music, a parade, all kinds of exhibits geared to the young and old alike and many remembrances from and about Harford County men and women who have served our country. Celebrating Harford Veterans is being coordinated by the Historical Society of Harford County.

Sgt. 1st Class Rosalyn D. Peterkin knows how to handle high-stress work. She has twice been deployed to Iraq. She has earned a reputation at Fort Meade, her home military base, as a top-flight volunteer counselor for at-risk teens. She has raised three kids as a single mother. But ask Peterkin, 36, an instructor at the Defense Information School on the base, about what she does in her limited spare time, and she can barely conceal her emotions. "I don't care what the occasion is, who requested us or if I have to get up at 3 in the morning," says Peterkin, the leader of a tightly knit outfit, the DINFOS Color Guard, whose job is to present Old Glory and four service flags at public events in displays of precision pageantry.

On November 16, 2007, JOHN QUERFURTH, JR., (United States Army Veteran and a long time member of the Boumi Temple Color Guard) of Parkville, beloved husband of Jean Querfurth (nee Schmidt) loving father of Cheryl Bean and husband Kevin; dear brother of Pauline Purkins; god-father of Furth Purkins; cherished grandfather of Kara, Kevin, Jr., and Katelynn; his mother in law, Frances A. Schmidt; also Jean's sons and grandchildren. Family and friends will honor John's life at the family owned Evans Funeral Chapel and Cremation Services-Parkville, 8800 Harford Road on Monday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9P.M.

They weren't the cheers you'd expect to hear at M&T Bank Stadium on a November weekend. "Color guard rules!" pompom-waving fans screamed from the stands. "Fly like an eagle!" Marching band supporters tend to avoid trash talk or name-calling to focus on the positive, a reputation borne out this weekend at the U.S. Scholastic Band Association National Championship. After months of after-school and weekend practices, football halftime show performances and local competitions, more than 70 high school marching bands from across the nation closed out their season in a marathon of performances Friday and yesterday.

The Annapolis City Color Guard (above) led a procession from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to the Maryland Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Annapolis on Monday during a Freedom Walk in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. Below, St. Mary's Elementary School pupils led a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Left, Alexis and Joe Regier of Annapolis participate in a community singalong.

Michael Boyd's conversation is sprinkled with "ma'ams" and "sirs." His posture is flawless, his demeanor so no-nonsense it's disarming. It's the kind of discipline you don't often see in a teen-ager.That military bearing has helped make Mr. Boyd and five fellow members of the Young Marines of Baltimore an award-winning color guard unit. Come Wednesday, during the 1993 Inaugural Parade in Washington, they'll get to show off their ceremonial style for President Bill Clinton and the nation."We're kind of nervous because the whole world will be watching us," said Mr. Boyd, who at 18 is the oldest member of the unit and the one who barks marching commands to the others.

The Towson University Student Government Association and TU's Veterans Services group will host the first Military Appreciation Day on Monday, April 23, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at the school's Burdick Field. The event will include family-friendly attractions including a rock wall, Humvee, Bungee trampoline and an inflatable obstacle course, sponsored by the Loyola University/Towson University ROTC. The official dedication ceremony that recognizes and honors Towson University military students, past and present, will begin at 3:30 p.m. adjacent to Burdick Hall.

Never mind the persistent drizzle or the mid-October chill that clung to the night air and threatened to zap the oomph out of the crowd. And never mind that the band members were wearing bulky red slickers in lieu of the fancy maroon-and-black uniforms left hanging in the school as they lined up to take the field for a game-opening rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." As the North Carroll High marching band paraded onto the muddy football field, all that mattered was the music. On the field, the performance of the national anthem was a mere warm-up for what the band had in store for the rest of the evening.

Run-of-the-mill water fountains usually can't count on a National Guard flyover, military color guard and governor's speech to mark their installations. To be fair, the new bubbler christened with almost that much fanfare at the head of the NCR trail in Cockeysville last week is the three-spigot variety that quenches all comers - those on foot, in wheelchairs and at the ends of dog leashes. And the flyover didn't actually come to pass. But it nearly did, thanks to the stick-to-it-ness of one Suzanne Amos, a Hunt Valley Rotary Club member who counts as friends both Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Maj. Gen. Bruce F. Tuxill, the Maryland Guard's commanding officer.