Guest Speaker Transitioned From Army Helicopter Pilot to Middle School Principal

Patriotic music, vintage military aircraft and equipment and people walking to celebrate freedom will highlight this year’s Peachtree City Patriot Day Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) hangar at Falcon Field.

Starting at 9 a.m. at the intersection of TDK and Dividend, Sandy Creek High School senior Caitlin Dillon will lead the 2nd Annual America Supports You Freedom Walk.  People can demonstrate their support for the men and women fighting for our freedom by participating in the one-mile walk.

Those interested in walking can register their name and how many will be attending by emailing Ptcfreedomwalk@yahoo.com.  

The walk will end at the CAF hangar at Falcon field, where the Patriot Day celebration takes place. The end of the walk actually kicks off the Patriot Day event, which features live patriotic music, vintage military aircraft, vehicles and equipment, a special guest speaker and more. The CAF will host tours of its vintage aircraft and vehicles at their hangar area.

This year’s guest speaker is Bennett’s Mill Middle School Principal Rae Presley-King. She has been principal since 2001 when the school opened. The road that led her there is one that few people have traveled. After graduating from Howard University in Washington on an Army ROTC scholarship she began Army aviation training and eventually became a pilot and platoon leader in charge of an OH-58 helicopter unit in Germany.

She spent eight years flying in the army before following her instincts to education.

Bennett’s Mill Middle School Band will be one of three featured music groups that will entertain the crowd. Also performing will be Music Alive!, a local singing group who has a wide repertoire of patriotic songs and a long tradition of pleasing audiences in the south Metro area.

The Peachtree Wind Ensemble will present a patriotic program including a song entitled “Flight of Valor,” which memorializes the heroics of passengers and crew of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

By presidential proclamation, Patriot Day is a day to reflect on the events of September 11, 2001, when more than 3,000 people were killed by terrorists in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.  

The “Freedom Walk” is an event, first started in 2005 by Pentagon employees to commemorate the people who were killed there, as a reminder of the continuing Global War on Terror and to renew commitment to freedom and the values of our country.

Last year 255 communities participated across the nation, and every state was represented along with eight nations overseas. What began as a small gesture became a new national tradition. 

“We would love for everyone to be a part of it!” said Freedom Walk coordinator Caitlin Dillon, a Sandy Creek High School senior. She organized the first Freedom Walk in Peachtree City last year after having participated in one the year before in another city.

Call the recreation department at 770-631-2542 for further information.