Jake Williams is a senior at Reservoir High School and the vice president of both the Maryland DECA Region V and Reservoir DECA chapter. DECA, which stands for Distributive Education Clubs of America, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. They are international in scope and their objective is to support the development of marketing and management skills in career areas such as hospitality, finance, sales and service, business administration and entrepreneurship.

Jake wrote to tell me about a visit from Tim Busher of Maple Lawn Farms and his visit to Debra Dear's marketing class. Students in the class are working on proposals for a state competition this coming April and sought his advice and insights on ways to improve their plans.

Jake wrote that Busher's knowledge and experience "greatly benefited the aspiring businessmen giving them invaluable information which will help them succeed in DECA and in their future endeavors."

The students who presented their proposals were Mike Deegen, Matt Galoskey, Jake Hurley, Ernie Nieves, Kevin Raja and Jake Williams. And since Jake is a senior, I asked him what his college plans were.

"I am looking at Babson and Bentley College in Boston," he wrote back. "I am definitely looking to go into business but right now I am deciding between economics and finance," Jake wrote.

Good luck in your endeavors, Jake.

This weekend, at Reservoir, the drama department is putting on "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," a musical based on the book, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain. Huck Finn, along with Big Jim the slave, travel down the Mississippi River in a bid for freedom. Along the way, they encounter interesting folks, face hardships and adversity, and learn to embrace their racial differences.

The play features music in the bluegrass and country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel." The shows are Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 20-22 at 7 p.m. The Sunday matinee, Nov. 23, takes place at 2:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $12 for students and $8 seniors.

Do you remember the Halloween column and the "Candy Buy-Back" sponsored by Parmar Family and Cosmetic Dentistry in Clarksville? I got a note from the good doctor's office with the results.

She would like to thank you all for your tremendous support in this drive. Your children allowed Dr. Rashmi Parmar to buy back more than 200 pounds of candy for the troops. Most of it was shipped to the troops overseas through "Operation Home Front" but some of it wound up at the USO lounge at BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport that serves our service men and women.

She said that "seeing the community come together and reach out honoring our soldiers serving our country was an incredible experience. All I can say is wow!

On Veteran's Day, I took a motorcycle ride with a group of bikers down to Arlington National Ceremony to honor all vets, living and dead. I stayed for the wreath-laying ceremony by Vice President Cheney.

After arriving at the Tomb of the Unknowns and going through the metal detectors, volunteers handed out small U.S. flags and a card with a "Project Rosebud" boutonnière.

The paragraph at the bottom of the card stated that it was made by an unknown student during a lesson about the patriotism and the Unknown Soldier. Now that really touched my heart.

When I happened to look on the back of the card, I discovered that this particular boutonnière was made in Patrica Kjolhede's class in Woodview Elementary School in Belding, Mich.

I already sent her class a note expressing my gratitude to her class for their gift. By the way, the ceremonies at the Tomb were very touching and brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat. God bless America.

Well, that's all for this week. Look after your neighbors. Remember our troops who are serving in harm's way. And don't forget their families. Commit a random act of kindness.

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