Plans announced for Gallia Memorial Day parade, ceremony
May 17—GALLIA COUNTY — The Gallia County Veterans Service Commission has announced plans for the 2022 Memorial Day Parade. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. and end at City Park, to be followed by a ceremony.
The guest speaker for the 2022 Memorial Day Ceremony will be David G. Perry. Perry was born in Dayton, and comes from a history of family members who served in the U.S. military, including his father who served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. After graduating from high school in Franklin, Perry enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974 and served until 1979. He received his Combat Training and AIT at Fort Jackson, S.C., with his first permanent duty station at Fort Knox, Ky., where he served for one and a half years before he was assigned to Heidelberg, Germany, for the remainder of his enlistment. He became involved in the Navigator ministry while serving at Fort Knox and Heidelberg.
After his military service, Perry graduated from Rio Grande College in 1982 with a BS in Physical Education/Health and Special Education. He was a special education teacher in Vinton County Local School from 1982-1989 and then transferred to the Gallipolis City School District to start and design a new program called Severely Behavior Handicapped unit at Rio Grande Elementary School. During this time he earned his Master's Degree in Administration from the University of Dayton. Later, Perry was asked to start and design a new program called the Clay Alternative School, 2000-2013.
From 2010-2012, he took on an additional responsibility by becoming the Gallia Academy Middle School Assistant Principal. In 2012-2013, he was asked to start and design a new program in partnership with the Ohio Rehabilitation Service Commission and the Ohio Department of Education.
Perry retired in 2013, and was hired by the Gallia-Vinton Education Service Center and served as a Prevention Coordinator from 2013-2015. During his career in education he also worked as a coach for football, girls' basketball, tennis, baseball, soccer and girl's gymnastics.
He is the founder and president of the SEARCH ministry on the University of Rio Grande campus. He is married to Sandy Haught Perry who is a pre-school teacher for handicapped children at Washington Elementary. The couple have two children: Joshua married to Stefanie (Scites) Perry and Kayla (Perry) Staph, married to Evan Staph, and three grandchildren, Thiesen, Tristan and Torin. The couple currently reside in Rio Grande.
The 2022 Gallipolis Memorial Day Parade is organized by the Gallia County Veterans Service Commission. Veteran service organizations, businesses, foundations and other community support groups are invited to participate. Those interested are asked to contact the Gallia County Veterans Service Office at 740-446-2005 no later than Friday, May 20.
Information provided by John W. Thomas, Exec. Director/CVSO, Gallia County Veterans Service Office.
