Broadcaster Press 05 November 20, 2012 www.broadcasteronline.com Billberg honored with American Legion Teacher of the Year Award By Travis Gulbrandson travis.gulbrandson@plainta lk.net Vermillion High School social studies teacher Lenni Billberg receives an American Legion Teacher of the Year Award from Clint Meadows, adjutant of the legion in Vermillion, during the Veterans Day program at W.H. Over Museum Monday. (Photos by David Lias/Plain Talk) We’ve got deals. A Vermillion High School social studies teacher was among the honorees at the 2012 Veterans Day Program at the W.H. Over Museum Monday. Although Lenni Billberg never served her county in the armed forces, she was presented with the American Legion Teacher of the Year Award for a project she started in 2008 that encourages local students to interact with veterans. “Students had to do the following: They had to find, interview and write … a pictorial biography of a veteran in our community,” Billberg said. “They could find somebody that was a relative, a friend, a neighbor who had served at some point in their life, whether it was in a war or whether they were still serving today.” The Veterans Project has since become Billberg’s favorite project. “They’re due Dec. 20, so truly, my Christmas present to myself is to take them home and read them each Christmas break,” she said. “As I read these stories, each year I get a wonderful (piece) of history about you guys, about you men and women who have served for us.” The stories have ranged from one about a young soldier who was injured in Korea and rescued by a family, to another about a young female codebreaker who recounted D-Day as the day when the air went silent, to a story of a Marine who arrived at his barracks shortly after the 1983 bombing Lebanon. “All of these stories each and every year make me wonder how you guys did it, how you dared to put on that uniform,” Billberg said. “But the question for me when I was given this award was, ‘Why did you do it?’” Billberg said her grandfather, who served in France during World War II, was her main reason for starting the project. “Sadly for me, he passed away in 1995, before I dared to ask him his story,” she said. “We knew he was a minefinder traveling ahead of tanks. We knew he served from December of 1941 to 1946. But he passed away in 1995, that was all we knew, and my family feels the void for not knowing his story. … “So, it was my job to tell your story,” she said. The Veterans Project has given some of Billberg’s students a chance to do what she was unable to. “I had a student two years ago who walked up to me at the end of the school year, six months after his project, who said, ‘Ms. Billberg, thank you for making me do the Veterans Project,’” she said. “His grandfather had passed away one week earlier. It was truly an honor for me to say, ‘I’m glad you got to know your grandfather.’” Billberg said it was also an honor to address the assembly of veterans and their families Monday morning. “So many of you served in local Guard units, so many of you have served just to serve,” she said. “You continue to serve because (the people in) this great region of South Dakota … don’t want your 15 minutes of fame. You served because you’re laborers of freedom, and unafraid to sacrifice the most to make a difference for us all.” www.broadcasteronline.com Thanksgiving Weekend Farm Toy & Literature Friday, Nov. 23rd, 10:00 a.m. & Saturday, Nov. 24th, 10:00 a.m. Located: Wakonda Legion Hall, Wakonda, South Dakota BLACK FRIDAY AUCTION at 10:00 a.m. (Finally, something for the guys to do on Black Friday!): 450+ Cataloged lots of great Farm & Construction toys. Several Gilson Riecke Custom pieces, lots of CAT & Construction Toys, Farm Toys of types including a collection of near mint, unboxed 1970’s Farm Toys! Also 4-wheel drives, Tonka Trucks, 1st Gear Trucks, and more! A collection of restored John Deere pedal tractors will bin included in this auction too. Let the gals go shopping…tell ‘em you’ll be in Wakonda! Saturday’s Auction at 10:00 a.m.: 500+ Cataloged lots of good, clean Farm Sales literature! All brands represented. Great John Deere, IH, Case, Allis-Chalmers, Ford, Massey, 4wheel Drive, and more. Many Construction & Industrial pieces too! Very clean collection! Call for a free, full color brochure or see our website for hundreds of photos. Live Internet bidding available through www.GirardBid.com! Bid there without being there! Girard Auction & Land Brokers, Inc. (605) 267-2421 Toll Free: 1-866-531-6186 www.GirardAuction.com • www.GirardBid.com