The Lafayette Parish School System held a formal ribbon cutting ceremony at Acadiana High School for the new Air Force JROTC building on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. LPSS school board members and administration, community leaders, and Acadiana High School JROTC staff and students were in attendance.
The ceremony began with the Air Force JROTC Cadets leading the Pledge of Allegiance and a welcome address from Principal Layne Edelman. Mrs. Edelman spoke of the time and dedication that went into the creation of this building saying, “I am overjoyed to see this building finally open for our Air Force JROTC Cadets. This program teaches them valuable characteristics of discipline and selfless service. They are the future leaders of our great nation and this program is instilling in them qualities that will better enable them to succeed in whatever path they choose when they leave us.”
The ceremony ended with a few words from Master Sergeant Tina Viltz-Flucas. Sergeant Viltz-Flucas, who is the Senior Aerospace Science Instructor at Acadiana High says, “For 20 years we called a butler building home. At times it was our gym, dressing room, storage room, conference room, and office for the instructors. We now have individual spaces for each of these functions and it is because of the 2,050 AHS cadets that have come through this JROTC program that have helped it to thrive.”
The new 4,025 sq. ft. JROTC building includes a 2500 square foot drill deck pavilion, 2 classrooms, changing rooms, and secure storage rooms that will allow our academy directors and Air Force JROTC cadets to fully embrace all aspects of the program, so that our cadets graduate from the program prepared to excel in their post-secondary careers. It is with the support of board vice-president, Britt Latiolais and his fellow board members that expansion projects like this JROTC facility are possible, particularly former board member Dr. Erick Knezek, whose personal connection to the JROTC program is part of the reason that this building idea was able to come to fruition.