Kyle Reyes, a Southwick native who is the President and CEO of Silent Partner Marketing, was uninvited to a speaking engagement. (photo courtesy Silent Partner Marketing)
SOUTHWICK – The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District informed Southwick VFW Post 872 on Wednesday that Kyle Reyes has been uninvited as a guest speaker for the Veterans Memorial Dedication Ceremony on May 21 that is taking place at the Southwick Regional School.
Reyes, who is the President and CEO of Silent Partner Marketing, is a former graduate of Southwick High School. A big supporter of first responders and veterans, Reyes is also pro-second amendment. Reyes has also made several appearances on Fox News and numerous other national media outlets.
According to Troy Henke, who is the Chairman of VFW Post 872, the post was the organization that invited Reyes to be a speaker. When initially informing the school district, Henke said that they seemed to have their reservations about it but never completely denied the request.
On Thursday, the school district sent a statement to the Westfield News to explain their decision.
“On May 21, 2018, we will dedicate the Veterans Memorial Foyer of the Southwick Regional School to honor three local veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Out of respect to Southwick’s and Granville’s fallen heroes and their families, we are striving to keep the focus of the dedication ceremony on these veterans and their immeasurable service to our nation.”
Henke said that the district did tell him that they didn’t feel comfortable with Reyes speaking to the students at the ceremony due to some of his positions making some of the students feel unsafe or not included.
As a result of this, Henke is disappointed of the news that Reyes won’t be speaking at the dedication ceremony.
“We feel it’s a missed opportunity to showcase our community and our school district’s ability to set aside political differences so that we can correlate around a common theme,” said Henke.
Henke also wanted to reassure people that the purpose of Reyes speaking wasn’t going to revolve around political views but rather focus on veterans and their service to the country. Reyes also wanted to talk about his own personal experiences attending the school.
“He does have some colorful political views,” said Henke. “This was not going to be a political theater.”
Despite the administration not allowing Reyes to take part in the ceremony, Henke did note that they did try to make an accommodation. The district’s alternative was to have Reyes available for a reception on May 21 around 4 p.m., which is after-school hours. This would allow anyone interested in hearing from Reyes to do so, rather than during the school hours and in front of all the students.
The actual dedication ceremony is centered on the veterans memorial foyer that VFW Post 872 has been working on for several months. The memorial is located in the foyer of the regional high school near the main entrance. The foyer features three plaques that will honor and recognize three fallen veterans who graduated from Southwick, Tolland, or Granville High School, and were killed in combat or in a hostile attack while serving their country.
The plaques mounted on the wall as part of the memorial. The plaques will include an image of the veterans, their years of life, the year they graduated high school, and any service information. There will be three veterans that will be a part of the Veterans Memorial at this time and they are as follows:
- William Alamed Jr. (killed while fighting the Vietnam War)
- Steven Wentworth (killed in the Beirut bombings in 1983)
- Travis Fuller (killed in the Iraq War in 2005)
The dedication ceremony is still scheduled for May 21 at 9 a.m. in the gymnasium of the regional school. Henke also wants to point out that the uninviting of Reyes doesn’t take away the successful relationship that the school district and VFW Post 872 have had throughout this entire process.
“The VFW and the school district have worked very well together on this,” said Henke. “They’ve been very supportive and accommodating and we’ve done the same, and that relationship is going to continue.”
Even though he won’t be a guest speaker at the ceremony, Reyes will be a guest speaker at the community event that VFW Post 872 is hosting at their headquarters on May 12 at 6 p.m. At the event, people will have the opportunity to speak and listen to Reyes, but more importantly, have the chance to recognize the three plaques and honor those veterans.
