ASL Club to honor military
Published 10:34 pm Thursday, April 14, 2016
![Some of the members of the Lakeland ASL Club take a break on the set from rehearsing their upcoming concert. From left are Laura Hickman, Dixie Seitz, Lettie Owens, Ralarielle Mohr, Rayquan Liverman, Troy Stubenrauch and Carlisa Hawkins. Not pictured are Giovanni McGlone and Jacob Allen.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2016/04/use-IMG_1286.jpg)
Some of the members of the Lakeland ASL Club take a break on the set from rehearsing their upcoming concert. From left are Laura Hickman, Dixie Seitz, Lettie Owens, Ralarielle Mohr, Rayquan Liverman, Troy Stubenrauch and Carlisa Hawkins. Not pictured are Giovanni McGlone and Jacob Allen.
Students in Lakeland High School’s ASL Club will pay tribute to the military during their spring concert this year.
Student Dixie Seitz suggested the idea during rehearsals for last year’s concert, club sponsor Anita Fisher said.
“I have a lot of family that’s been in the Marine Corps,” Seitz said, adding that the Marine Corps hymn is her favorite song in the upcoming concert. “It’s kind of cool.”
The concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. April 22-23 at the school.
Fisher said the performances will begin with an entrance by the ROTC, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which will be signed.
Then, representatives from each branch of the military will come on stage as the hymn for that branch is played.
A selection of military-related songs, as well as songs that were popular during each of five conflicts — World Wars I and II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Desert Storm/Gulf War — will follow.
The stage will be set up like a USO at “Lakeland Air Force Base,” Fisher said. She drew inspiration from old Bob Hope performances.
“Every year, you would see him at Christmastime going to entertain the troops,” Fisher said.
Troy Stubenrauch, one of the members of the club, said his favorite song from the performance is “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” a 1941 song by the Andrews Sisters.
“It’s upbeat, and it’s a song I feel like you can have a good time with,” he said.
Carlisa Hawkins, a senior, said her favorite song in the show is The Byrds’ “Turn! Turn! Turn!” It became an international hit in 1965, during the Vietnam War.
“I love sign language, because when you’re signing music, you get to feel it more,” junior Lettie Owens said. Her favorite is “Everything Stops for Tea,” another World War II song.
Fisher said she appreciates the ROTC, and its leaders Maj. Blake and Master Sgt. Curtis, for their help.
“They have just been great about the whole thing,” she said. They have loaned color guard and uniforms in addition to other things, she added.
Entrance is available for a donation of $5 for adults or $3 for students. Admission is free for children 4 and under and any active-duty or retired military, who are encouraged to wear their uniforms if possible.