BOONE, N.C.—Appalachian State University will mark Memorial Day with a ceremony featuring remarks by Eric Gormly, the coordinator of student veteran services at Appalachian.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. Monday, May 29, at the Veterans Memorial, adjacent to the B.B. Dougherty Administration Building on campus.

A reception will follow in the lobby of the Dougherty building. There will be free parking available anywhere on campus. In case of adverse weather, the ceremony will take place in the lobby of the Dougherty building.

Gormly, who began working at Appalachian in 2016, will speak on the importance and meaning of Memorial Day. Gormly has run Appalachian’s Major General Edward M. Reeder Jr. Student Veteran Resource Center since its opening this past November. He serves as the single point-of-contact for student veterans and oversees programs and policies that will meet the unique needs of student veterans. Additionally, he works to foster the growth and success of student veterans by developing activities that facilitate the transition from the military to the campus and Boone community.

Gormly served in the U.S. Marines Corps for six years, enlisting after high school in 2004, when he was 19 years old. His service included two tours in Iraq. In September of 2006, he deployed to Fallujah with the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment, and in 2009 he went to the Iraq-Syria border with the 3rd Battalion, 24th Regiment. After his military service, Gormly attended the University of Kansas, where in 2015 he earned a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology.

During the ceremony, cadets in Appalachian’s ROTC program will participate by presenting colors, raising the flag and lowering it to half-staff. Dr. Darrell P. Kruger, provost and executive vice chancellor at Appalachian, will make welcoming and closing remarks. Brent Bingham will serve as the ceremony’s bugler.

Bingham, a trumpeter who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Appalachian’s Hayes School of Music, now serves as the building manager of the school’s Broyhill Music Center.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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