May 2017 has come and gone and June is upon us again. The Fort Worth Scottish Rite Valley has completed its presentation of special honors to our outstanding young American Patriots.
The Fort Worth Scottish Rite takes great pleasure in presenting special awards each year to deserving and outstanding Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and Junior ROTC (JROTC) recipients each year, and 2017 in no exception.
It is very special to see so many young college and high school scholars and disciplined young men and women who have a desire to become members of such a prestigious organization as the ROTC and JROTC. In a time when we need disciplined and educated leaders for the future, the ROTC and JROTC leaders and personnel work diligently in our colleges and independent school systems to begin the processes of developing energetic and capable young leaders. We recognize the great job the ROTC and JROTC leadership is doing and the Fort Worth Scottish Rite salutes them for their tireless and capable leadership.
The awards are presented to college ROTC and high school JROTC students, who meet the very high standards necessary for the awards. The awards are presented by various groups to include; Veterans Groups, Military and Civilian Societies, and prestigious Military Awards Recipient groups.
The candidates for the awards are judged by their peers and the ROTC leadership in the areas of academics, military protocol, military bearing and personal leadership attributes.
There were six ROTC awards presented to outstanding college and university recipients, and 43 Junior ROTC awards to high school students. The awards are very prestigious and carry high expectations for the recipients and have special significance for the parents of the recipients.
Many of the recipients have declared their intent to join the United States Military services, (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and or Coast Guard) following high school while others plan to attend college or universities and continue their participation in ROTC.
Our 2017 ROTC and JROTC awards program was led by Brother Ricky Cliatt, 32nd Degree. This is Ricky’s third year as Program Chairman and he and his volunteers should receive outstanding recognition for the effort and professional manner they carried out their presentation duties.
The following Fort Worth Scottish Rite Masons comprise a great team of ROTC and JROTC presentation volunteers, many or most of whom are United States Military Veterans:
Pat Waddell, 33RD Degree
Billy Campbell, 33rd Degree
John Merk, 33rd Degree
Don Cranford, 32nd Degree KCCH
Tom Spencer, 32nd Degree KCCH
BJ Young, 32nd Degree KCCH
David Kenny, 32nd Degree KCCH
Henry Theierl, 32nd Degree KCCH
Jim Murphy, 32nd Degree
John Hirisco, 32nd Degree
Bill Staton, 32nd Degree
Jimmy Crump, 32nd Degree
Mike Elliot, 32nd Degree
Mike White, 32nd Degree
Ricky Cliatt, 32nd Degree
Bill Crow, 32nd Degree
The Fort Worth Scottish Rite is very proud to have a small part in recognizing these wonderful, disciplined young scholars and recipients of the ROTC and JROTC awards. They represent a part of the future and their achievements have not only identified them as young American Patriots, but as high achievers and the leaders of tomorrow.