Black River students celebrate veterans through annual breakfast

SULLIVAN TWP. — Black River High School students thanked veterans for their service through a breakfast and an assembly, which featured student performances, patriotic essays and a keynote speaker on Friday. Jenny Demczyk is a Black River family and consumer sciences teacher and an adviser for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. She came to the district 14 years ago and brought the tradition of honoring veterans from her old school to Black River. "My dad is a veteran, my grandfather was a veteran, my great-grandfather was a veteran and my husband is a veteran," she said. "This population is so important to my family, and it's important to this community as well. I want my students to sit where there's plates, have conversations and build those relationships." Groups like the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Future Farmers of America, the Ruriteens, student council and other students helped make the event possible, Demczyk said. Black River Family, Career and Community Leaders of America paid for the food for breakfast while her chef classes prepared and made dishes like casseroles and pancakes. "I work with the best kids in the county," she said. "Fifty-five kids showed up at 5:45 this morning to help with this, and every year, it just makes my heart so happy to see the next generation of kids get what community and patriotism means." The national Voice of Democracy contest was run at Black River this year, which is an essay-writing competition based on a patriotic theme, Demczyk said. Entries were submitted to the Wellington Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the students who came in first, second and third place locally read their essays during the assembly. Demczyk was also recognized with an award from the VFW on Friday. Demczyk said her husband, Joe Demczyk, has been asked for years to be the keynote speaker for the assembly. He agreed to do it when both of his children were at the high school, so he was the speaker for Friday's event. Joe Demczyk served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2010 and completed two deployments during his time of service. He explained the impact 9/11 had on his choice to serve. "I had just started my junior year of high school, and I was just given a large dose of perspective," he said. "My eyes had been opened to a much larger world outside of my concerns for the next two years. Like many others, I was motivated to take action." He described patriotism as a "shared belief in freedom, fairness and possibility" and said it gives Americans common ground even when everything feels divided. "Celebrating patriotism doesn't mean we ignore our problems. It means we face them with hope, courage and respect," Joe Demczyk said. "Every time you show kindness, every time you learn something new and every time you give back, you're building a stronger country." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.