HPU, community mark veterans' service

Nov. 10—HIGH POINT — A crowd of more than 2,000 people packed the arena at High Point University Friday morning with a collective message for military veterans — thank you for your service.

The 13th annual High Point University Veterans Day Celebration drew an overflow audience to the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center.

HPU President Nido Qubein said the main banquet hall was set up with tables to seat approximately 1,400. But by the time the program began about 8:30 a.m. additional guests had arrived, compelling hospitality crews to use tables set up on what's usually the space for the basketball court.

The start of the program was delayed about a half hour as the last guests parked their cars and made their way to the arena on an overcast morning. The university said the turnout was the highest since the event began.

Qubein said that reflects the deep layers of patriotism and respect for the military on campus and in the community.

As veterans and their families arrived, groups of students and members of HPU sports teams clapped and cheered.

Qubein announced that HPU is establishing a free law clinic for veterans as part of the university's new law school.

"Funded by a $1 million donation, HPU will support veterans as they navigate veteran affairs issues," Qubein said. "It will be operated by the faculty, staff and students of the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, right here in our city of High Point."

In addition to helping veterans, the law clinic will provide students in HPU's new law school with some hands-on, real-world education, Qubein said.

During the breakfast, The Independence Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting catastrophically wounded veterans and their families, announced that Operation KARE has surpassed $1 million in donations.

The Zeta Phi Chapter of Kappa Alpha at HPU started Operation KARE, an acronym for Knowledge, Awareness, Results, Empowerment, in 2016 as a student-led initiative aimed at raising money to provide all-terrain track chairs for veterans who need them. The money was donated to The Independence Fund, whose mobility program provides catastrophically wounded veterans with track chairs to help them regain their independence, said Michael Esposito, founder of Operation KARE and a HPU graduate.

"Operation KARE started because we wanted to find a way to give back to veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedom, and the track chair program with the Independence Fund was a perfect fit," he said.

Since its founding, Operation KARE has expanded to 74 chapters of Kappa Alpha nationwide, with three dozen track chairs given to veterans during the past seven years.

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul