LPHS Veterans Day assembly to feature local Air Force vet Bobbi Gilbert
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
On Tuesday, Nov. 11, a pair of community events will honor veterans in the Big Sky community. First, the Big Sky Community Organization will serve a free breakfast at BASE, followed by Lone Peak High School’s annual Veterans Day assembly, inviting the public to join students in honoring U.S. military veterans.
No BASE pass is required for the 7 to 10 a.m. breakfast and all community members are welcome.
“BSCO is honored to host this event again [this] year as a small way to give back to those who’ve given so much,” BSCO CEO Madeleine Feher stated in an email to EBS. “From pancakes to heartfelt cards from our BASEcamp kids, the Veterans Day Breakfast truly captures the spirit of community and appreciation that makes Big Sky so special.”
The LPHS assembly begins at 2 p.m. in the school gym, and will feature keynote speaker Bobbi Gilbert, a Big Sky resident who served 24 years in the U.S. Air Force and continues to serve active-duty special operations forces and their families by volunteering with Big Sky Bravery.
Gilbert’s Air Force service included primarily legal and HR positions, according to a bio shared by the LPHS student council. “She spent most of her military career in Special Operations and was selected as her installation’s HR Manager of the Year multiple times throughout her career,” the bio states.
She holds master and bachelor of legal studies degrees from American Military University, and will graduate this spring with a Master in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis—where Gilbert is originally from, although she has lived all over the United States, Korea, Italy, and Germany, before settling in Big Sky in 2021.
“In a community that’s really small like Big Sky, one thing I really love is the close connections of being able to help people who have questions about the military, or living around the world—kind of our experiences,” Gilbert told EBS in a phone call.
When her husband, Jon—a fellow Air Force veteran—spoke at the assembly two years ago, she was struck by the positive impact he had on students considering joining the military or facing related challenges like moving to a new place.
She said the assembly is an important gathering of all students K-12, and an opportunity for students and community members to recognize veterans living as peer community members.
“As a veteran, it’s humbling to see people recognize that we still have value… It’s kind of the one day where I truly try to appreciate the appreciation [for my service],” Gilbert said.
LPHS principal Dr. Marlo Mitchem invites the community to attend the assembly, a tradition dating back roughly 15 years, and credited the student council for putting it together.
“The Veterans Assembly has become one of the many embedded traditions of Lone Peak High School,” Mitchem stated in an email.
