ESCC ‘serving those who have served’
Jan 23, 2019
“You have served our country and now it is time for us to serve you.”
With those words Enterprise State Community College President Matt Rodgers welcomed those attending the second Coffee with a Veteran breakfast meeting held Jan. 15 on the college campus in Enterprise
“We have so many programs for our veterans and their families and it’s our job to communicate what those programs are,” Rodgers said as he explained the purpose of the veteran-focused information event held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 a.m.
Retired Army Col. Chaplain Sonny Moore was keynote speaker at the event and he had high praise for Rodgers. “He hit the ground running,” Moore told those attending the veteran-focused event. “Matt, you’ve done so well and I’m so proud of you. You really have taken this school to another level.”
Reaching “another level” was also the theme of Moore’s address to the military veterans. “Y’all understand the meaning of ‘Chain of Command,’” he said. “And that starts with our Maker and Redeemer, the one who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth.
“I owe Him everything,” Moore said. “He created me for a purpose—to make a difference. That’s a daily prayer, I pray. ‘God help me to make a difference.’”
Moore said that when he began his military career that ultimately spanned more than three decades he had only one goal. “I wanted to be the best chaplain in the Army. I wanted to love the soldiers and their families and take care of them. That was the only goal I had
“To be the best I could be and to make a difference,” was his focus Moore said, outlining four “stake poles” in his life.
“The first is ‘Be Yourself,’” Moore said. “You are unique, you are special. God has a plan for you to make a difference like no body else.”
The second “stake pole,” Moore said is to remain positive. “A positive attitude will go a long way. A smile goes a long way.”
The third is to be mindful of others, Moore said. “Somebody around you needs love and encouragement,” he said. “We’ve got to love one another and encourage one another. People are going through some tough stuff. We need the encouragement of each other.”
The fourth “stake pole” Moore said is goals. “Be going somewhere. Have some goals financially and educationally,” he explained. “You never get too old to stop learning.
“Have some goals spiritually,” Moore advised. “Some things you don’t get a redo on.
“You can’t take a word back, you can’t get back wasted opportunities, you can’t get time back,” Moore stressed. “So I pray that you have made that big choice that we follow Him who said, ‘I am the way the truth and the life.’”
“We are privileged to serve those who have served us,” is how Rodgers described his thoughts to those attending the event held in the campus multipurpose room in the student center. “And I can’t think of a better place to do it than right here at the doorstep of Fort Rucker.”
ESCC Veterans’ Affairs and Student Financial Aide Coordinator Stephen Adcock agreed. “We are really excited about some of the things that we have on our plate for veterans for next year,” he said, citing a new student organization comprised of military veteran students and a Veterans Resource Center set to open in the Spring. “It will provide a place, an opportunity for our veteran students to connect with each other,” he said. “It is for like-minded individuals who are facing some of the same issues, some of the same challenges.”
“We are here for you. you are special to us,” Rodgers told the veterans. “You have a home here. You are important to us.”