Renner: Veterans share belief in service above self

Palm Coast Observer
News

Veterans come from all over the country — and every race and ethnicity and political persuasion — but are united in purpose and a belief in service above self, Rep. Paul Renner said at a joint Flagler County/city of Palm Coast Veterans Day event at the Flagler Auditorium Nov. 11.

Roy Sieger named Veteran of the Year

Flagler Executive Airport Director Roy Sieger is Flagler County's 2020 Veteran of the Year.

The Flagler County Colonel Gary E. DeKay Veteran of the Year Award recipient was announced at a joint Flagler County/city of Palm Coast Veterans Day ceremony at the Flagler Auditorium.

Sieger served 20 years in the Marine Corps, from 1984 to 2004, reaching the rank of gunnery sergeant, said Veterans Advisory Council Chairman Neal McCoppin. Sieger deployed in Desert Shield and Desert Storm and completed his education at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University before becoming an airport manager.

As a member of the Rotary Club of Flagler Beach, Sieger was named Rotarian of the Year in 2017 and, while serving as president, helped secure grants to purchase cribs to prevent sudden infant death syndrome in Flagler County and to purchase a semi truck full of food for families who are in need due to COVID-19.

As director of the airport, he initiated Freedom Fest, which celebrates veterans.

He helped secure millions in grant money for improvements at the airport and was selected as the FAA's southern regional airport director of the year in 2012; in 2018, the airport received the FAA's southern regional General Airport Safety Award, McCoppin said.

Under Sieger's leadership, the airport was also a staging site for emergency response during four hurricanes.

Community events such as Freedom Fest, Wings over Flagler, and Rocking the Runways have raised over $75,000 in scholarship money for local students and more than $100,000 for other charitable organizations, McCoppin said.

"I could never have done those things if I didn’t take the call of duty back when I was 18 years old, and went to the Marine Corps Parris Island to sit on those yellow footprints," Sieger said. "And that’s where it started, right there. And 20 years later, I retired as a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, and four years later after that came here to Flagler County — where I continue to serve as the airport director, and it's been one of the greatest jobs I have ever had.”

Renner, a Navy veteran who represents District 24 in the Florida House of Representatives, began his service on the USS McInerney after college.

"One of my first impressions when I came on board was how the sailors on that ship reflected the entire nation," he said. "Outside the military, those differences are often cause for conflict and division, yet inside the military, this all-volunteer force comes together, united in purpose regardless of race and region, color or creed."

He added, "Service above self is why when others run from the fight, our veterans run toward it — why we find ourselves a world away, fighting in wars we did not start to protect millions of Americans we will never meet and can never thank us, but that’s what we do. It’s simply who our veterans are."

He spoke of the Old Testament story in the book of Isaiah in which God, seeking someone to perform a difficult, thankless task, goes to Isaiah and says, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" and without hesitating, Isaiah replies, "Here am I, send me."

"This is the response of our veterans to every challenge," Renner said. "When our country declared its independence, men who were farmers and blacksmiths left their families and said, 'Here am I, send me.' They joined the revolution and won our freedom. In World War Two, our veterans said, 'Here am I, send me,' to defeat an evil Nazi engine and its demonic leader. In Korea and Vietnam, our veterans answered the call and said, 'Here am I send me,' to stop a Marxist and communist ideology that has enslaved and murdered more of its own people than any other system in world history. These are our veterans. Those who have served in the past and who serve today, no matter how difficult the mission, no matter how thankless the task, they always answer, without hesitation, 'Here am I, send me.'"

"Service above self is why when others run from the fight, our veterans run toward it."

— PAUL RENNER, represenative, Florida House District 24

Even after leaving the military, he said, veterans continue to serve.

"We continue to help each other and our community in ways big and small," Renner said, "motivated by that deep love of country, the belief in service above self, and a relentless grit to never quit until the mission is complete."

Watch the full ceremony at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYtEFgOAzJs.