The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets’ Rice Center for Leader Development and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation will bring the Medal of Honor Character Development Program training to Southwest Virginia educators on March 2.

Additionally, the foundation will bring U.S. Army 1st Lt. (retired) Brian M. Thacker, a Medal of Honor recipient, to campus to speak with cadets that afternoon. Thacker received the medal on Oct. 15, 1973, for his actions in Vietnam.

The training event for middle and high school educators will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Owens Hall Banquet Room, 150 Kent St., on the Blacksburg campus. There is no cost for attendance, and breakfast and lunch will be provided. Schools can be reimbursed the cost of a substitute teacher.

Interested educators should register online.

The Medal of Honor Character Development Program uses oral histories to demonstrate examples of courage, commitment, sacrifice, integrity, citizenship, and patriotism and offers ways educators can inspire students to use these examples to influence changes in their own communities.

“This training goes hand-in-hand with the Rice center’s mission to foster and inspire the next generation of public leaders. We’re excited to be able to partner with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and bring an inspiring message to our local educators,” said center Director Elaine Humphrey

Thacker's visit is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in Burruss Auditorium. That event is open to the public. The corps asks that guests sit behind the cadets, who have assigned seating by battalion.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation was founded by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which consists exclusively of the living recipients of the Medal of Honor. It is dedicated to educating and inspiring Americans about the values embodied in the Medal of Honor.

The corps’ Major General Thomas W. Rice Center for Leader Development transforms aspiring undergraduates into inspiring leaders through a comprehensive program of academic course work, real-world leadership experiences, and guest speakers.

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