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Hugo Schmidt Elementary Sailors Salute The Nation's Veterans

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By BARBARA ROUTEN, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 21, 2007

BRANDON - The Hugo Schmidt Elementary School Sailors celebrated Veterans Day on Nov. 9. Kindergartners waved star-spangled banners, and everyone pledged allegiance and joined choral director Marshall Gillon's Pride chorus in singing the national anthem as the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps color guard from Tampa Bay Technical High School displayed the flag.

Assistant Principal Ken Gay introduced the guest speaker, Army Lt. Col. Rob Cerjan of Valrico, who serves at Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Cerjan told the children he is third-generation military, has moved 27 times and has jumped out of airplanes 927 times.

Cerjan introduced his next-door neighbor and assistant, Air Force Master Sgt. Kirk Miller. Both encouraged the children to pepper Cerjan's speech with cries of "Hooah!" a military slang term that means just about anything, except "no."

"This is the greatest country in the world," Cerjan said. Hooah! "This country was built on veterans, who do what they do to protect our country and to protect the guy next to them. It's those who served and who continue to serve - and their spouses and sons and daughters. It's the families at home taking care of things, like Rosie the Riveter. My grandmother did, in fact, build planes."

At the end of a succinct speech, Cerjan presented Gay with enough chocolate bars for each of the 651 Schmidt students. Hooah!

Students' relatives who are military active duty or veterans attended as guests. Among those were Air Force Maj. Jason Stanley, father of fourth-grader Harrison Stanley; retired Army Pfc. Elis Pujols, grandfather of fourth-grader Italia Erica Scavo; and retired Navy Lt. j.g. John Guerin, who enjoyed hearing his fifth-grade son, Neriah Guerin, sing in the Pride chorus. Noticeably absent was the school's namesake, retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Hugo Schmidt Sr. "He usually comes around when he can," Gay said.

"It's great coming to talk with the kids," Cerjan said. "Forget politics - you look back at the flag. That's what it's all about."

Miller agreed.

"You're just enjoying the moment for what it is, looking out and seeing 5-year-olds waving flags," he said.

Sincerely, Santa Volunteers Needed

BRANDON - Dear neighbors, Santa needs helpers. The holiday gift program Sincerely, Santa provided gifts to more than 2,700 children last Christmas, thanks to an all-volunteer roster of elves that included Hillsborough County schoolteachers, firefighters and sheriff's deputies, Tampa police officers, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and unaffiliated helpers.

For 20 years, Hillsborough County schoolteachers have asked their students in the preschool Head Start program through third grade to write a letter to Santa.

"Sometimes the letters just break your heart," said volunteer Cindy Ciccarello. "These kids believe in Santa, so some of their letters ask for all kinds of things, but some ask for 'Mom to come home' or 'the same place to live every night' or 'nothing for me, but a doll for my little sister.'"

The letters, plus information such as reduced-price lunch registries, help teachers identify students who may be at risk of missing a visit from Santa.

A notebook with copies of the letters will be available for public perusal at the Westfield Brandon mall Friday through Dec. 16.

"People come up to the booth and look through the letters," said volunteer Mary Shields. "They pick the ones they want and take the list. Then they bring back the gifts they have bought for them. It's a good cause and very rewarding."

Sometimes there are letters leftover. When that happens, program volunteers use cash donations to buy gifts those children asked for at Wal-Mart. "We answer all of the letters that get into the book," Ciccarello said.

Volunteers tag the gifts and deliver them to the Sincerely, Santa warehouse, where more volunteers group them by ZIP code. The presents are gathered, wrapped and marked for each individual child.

Volunteer sheriff's deputies, police officers, state troopers and firefighters then deliver the presents to the children's home addresses. Unfortunately, some families no longer live at the given addresses and are hard to locate, Ciccarello said.

The first year, firefighters noticed there were often other children in the homes where the gifts were delivered. Now, siblings' names and ages also are noted, and gifts are brought for each brother and sister younger than 15.

Sincerely, Santa "has been a very worthwhile event," Ciccarello said. "It's exciting because a lot of people have made this a tradition."

There is no paid staff. Volunteers are needed at the booth in the mall on evenings and weekends and at the warehouse. Teens volunteering with adults can earn community service hours. Area residents are invited to stop by the booth and grant a needy child's holiday wish.

For information or to volunteer, call Ciccarello at (813) 681-7229 or (813) 393-6002.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampabay .rr.com or call (813) 657-4531

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