{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://costello.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/ojr-honors-veterans-11th-annual-ceremony", "OJR honors veterans with 11th annual ceremony", "2016-11-14", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Ryan Costello", "C001106", "costello.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "SOUTH COVENTRY >> As businesses, organizations and individuals celebrated veterans across the country Friday, local schools were no exception.\nThe 11th Annual Veterans Day Ceremony began at 11:45 a.m. with opening remarks from Owen J. Roberts history teacher David Schwenk and Superintendant of Schools Michael Christian.\nAs Naval ROTC students lined the walls of the Owen J. Roberts High School auditorium, veterans and students sat attentively while guest speakers addressed the importance of the day and reminded the audience about the sacrifices that have made our freedoms possible.\n\u201cI think we can safely say that regardless of your political affiliation and all the news that took place this week, we can agree that our veterans have pledged their allegiance and their dedication to our country time and time again through their service,\u201d said Christian.\nVeterans and students were also addressed by government officials, including state Sen. John Rafferty, R-44, of Collegeville; U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6, of West Goshen; state Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26, of North Coventry; and a representative for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.\n\u201cThis day is a teachable moment for our young adults because it\u2019s our opportunity to go back in time and look at how and why we are the country that we are and how special it is to be an American because of the victories we\u2019ve had in times of war and the sacrifices that have been made during peace time to preserve those freedoms,\u201d said Costello.\nFollowing an address by each guest, the Owen J. Roberts choir performed patriotic pieces such as \u201cGod Bless America\u201d and a video demonstration depicted the importance of a soldier\u2019s sacrifice in preserving freedom as a reading of A. Laurence Vaincourt\u2019s poem, \u201cJust a Common Soldier\u201d accompanied the images.\nVeterans were later directed to the school\u2019s instruction room for a catered lunch following a performance of taps that left some attendees with tears in their eyes.\n\u201cThese successive wave of veterans made America better and stronger. Their service to our nation didn\u2019t end when their military service ended. Our veterans carried that pride and their love of country forward and we\u2019ve been rewarded with the greatest country in the history of mankind,\u201d said Rafferty Friday. \u201cThe nation our veterans have built for us, defended for us and protected for us is the envy of people around the world and tomorrow\u2019s America will be even better.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://costello.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/ojr-honors-veterans-11th-annual-ceremony"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7634709365665913, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}