Albany, Georgia – Albany Technical College will hold its annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Thursday, May 18, 2017, beginning at 10 a.m., in the Kirkland Conference Center. Keynote speaker for the ceremony will be Lt. Colonel Donald E. Gray, Jr., Retired, U.S. Marine Corps.
Enlisting from his hometown of Houston Texas in 1986, Lt. Col. Gray graduated Honorman from Recruit Training at San Diego and Honorman from the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, California. As an Infantryman, he served in several billets with Alpha Company 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines to include participation in Joint Task Force 6 counter drug/counter narco-terrorism operations along the Texas and Mexico borders, along with several assignments throughout his military career.
Gray holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Military Science (as the Naval ROTC unit’s most Distinguished Graduate) from Prairie A&M University. In 2009, he assumed the position as the Deputy Director of the Maintenance Management Center at Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany (LOGCOM). He currently supervises programs in support of the Marine Corps Logistics Command in several stateside and overseas locations and in addition at Fort Benning, Georgia in support of the U.S. Army Directorate of Training Sustainment. He is a member of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and the Albany Area Chamber Military Affairs Committee.
The ceremony will begin with a welcome from Albany Tech’s President, Dr. Anthony O. Parker, followed by the presentation of colors by the Westover High School Marine Corps Junior ROTC Color Guard, the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem, performed by Todd Stone.
After the invocation provided by Vincent Alston, Veteran of the U.S. Army, there will be a special vocal performance by O’Brien Arnett, Chair of the Marketing Management program at Albany Tech, and a video tribute entitled “True Meaning of Memorial Day.”
Albany Tech began the tradition in 2013 of holding both a Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day Ceremony on the campus prior to or following the Monday holiday to commemorate our veterans and allow our students, faculty, staff, and the community to recognize and honor those who fought for our country.