HUNTSVILLE – Patriotic music will lift our spirits as we lift up our military in gratitude and prayer at the 16th Annual YMCA Veterans Prayer Breakfast, set for Nov. 4 at the Craig and Steven Hogan Family YMCA in Madison.

LTG Robert A. Rasch, Jr., Director of Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space and Rapid Acquisition, will give the keynote address. KC Bertling, President of the Veterans Coalition, will emcee. Offering prayers will be George Baker, Chaplin of North Alabama Veterans and Fraternal Organization Coalition, and Rev. Kristin Prasad, Minister to Kids and Families at First Baptist Huntsville.

As the first event of Veterans Week in the Tennessee Valley, the breakfast adopts the theme

“Courage, Sacrifice and Duty, Honoring our Military Veterans.” Doors will open at 6:45 a.m. for check-in and a coffee social with the program beginning promptly at 7:30 a.m. Advance tickets may be purchased online through Nov. 2 at ymcahuntsville.org/VETERANS, by emailing events@ymcahuntsville.org or calling (256)428-9622 ext. 3008. Individual tickets are $30. Veterans may contact the YMCA to request a free ticket while they last.

“The YMCA has had over 100 years of historical commitment serving and honoring veterans. The Veterans Prayer Breakfast, which is in partnership with the North Alabama Veterans and Fraternal Organizations Coalition, serves as a continuation of our effort to let our military heroes, both those who have served previously and those currently serving, know that they are cherished and valued in our community,” said Jerry Courtney, President and CEO of the Heart of the Valley YMCA.

Veterans Week recognition at the Y includes free admission for all Veterans and those with valid Military I.D. to include their families from November 6-12 at all branches of the Y: Downtown Express YMCA and Southeast Family YMCA in Huntsville and Hogan Family YMCA in Madison.

As part of Heart of the Valley’s ongoing commitment to supporting the total family, the Y offers free membership to soldiers before and after deployment and to their families while their loved one is away as well as free summer camp and respite child care for families of deployed military. In 2021, Heart of the Valley YMCA provided more than $66,000 to 1,124 Military members and their families in fee assistance.