Douglas County Young Marines
"Strengthening the Lives of America's Youth"
Young Marines and Toys for Tots
The Douglas County Young Marines collected toys for 5 weekends at the Wal-Mart in Castle Rock in support of Toys for Tots. They filled 3 pods and it is estimated that the drive raised 30,000 toys. It is our honor to be a part of this worthwhile program and help collect toys for under privileged children, knowing that this drive helped make them a little happier at Christmas.
National Young Marine of the Year YM/SgtMaj Kayle Hill cuts the Young Marines cake.
Young Marines/Marine Corps Ball!
On November 14th, the Douglas County Young Marines held their 4th annual Young Marine/Marine Corps Ball to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Young Marines and the 234th birthday of the Marine Corps.
The ball consisted of the traditional Marine Corps Commandant's birthday message and cake cutting ceremony, as well as the Missing Man Table ceremony, Young Marines cake cutting, awards, promotions and lots of raffles! Of course, there was also lots of delicious food and dancing to top off the night.
We were honored to have Colorado State Representative Frank McNulty, Parker Mayor David Casiano and his wife, and National Young Marine of the Year YM/SgtMaj Kayle Hill as our honored guests.
It was a great time for Young Marines, staff and parents alike. My congratulations to all the Young Marines who helped organize and make this ball the best one we've ever had. Be sure to check out all the photos on our Photos page!
Veterans Appreciation Week Success!
Every year, Young Marine units throughout the country take time to say thank you to our veterans by participating in Veterans Appreciation Week. The Douglas County Young Marines are no exception and this year they have been extremely successful!
On Saturday, November 7th, the Young Marines and parents hosted a veterans pancake breakfast. The breakfast consisted of pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit, juice, tea and coffee. Over 50 veterans and their families participated in the first ever breakfast. The fundraising, donations and organizing of this event was done by PVT Taryn Nell, who headed up this effort as his Eagle Scout project. He did an excellent job and I know all the veterans who attended felt very appreciated.
That same day, we had another group of Young Marines helping the Parker VFW Post to hand out poppies at the Parker Wal-Mart.
On Sunday, November 8th, the Young Marines participated in a tribute to our veterans at Community Baptist Church in Franktown, followed up by serving and waiting on the veterans at a dessert social put on by the Douglas County Veterans Affairs Office at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.
During Veteran's Day week Young Marines will also be performing color guards for their school's Veteran's Day assemblies. Needless to say, I believe these Young Marines have done an excellent job of showing our veterans how thankful we are for their service to our country. Click here to see photos from the different events.
Well done, Young Marines and parents! Semper Fi!!
Training for the Nationals
The Douglas County Young Marines have begun training a drill team and color guard teams for the Air Force Academy National Invitational Drill Meet in May 2010.
The drill team uses 8 1/2 lb Daisy 1903 Springfield Drill Team rifles and the color guards use 4 1/2 1903 Springfield replicas.
The drill team consists of 2 teams, the A team, the team that will compete, and the B team, which is just learning movements and will be allowed to perform if a simple routine is perfected.