There are 22 million veterans of the United States Armed Forces living today and one of them will be the keynote speaker on Thursday at the Hon. Frank J. McCown Lecture Series Veterans Tribute at Ohio University Southern.

The event takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Bowman Auditorium and although organizers dealt with a last-minute change in the program, it is expected to go off without a hitch.

“The original keynote speaker was one of our students who served in Afghanistan,” Mary Ann Wymer, OUS student services specialist, said. “He got called out for mandatory training and his superiors wouldn’t allow him to miss it, so he had to cancel.”

Ohio Army National Guard Sgt. Shane Hatfield, of Portsmouth, will deliver the keynote address and he says he is becoming accustomed to participating in this type of event.

“I have spoke at a couple Veterans Day events in the past,” he said. “I look forward to sharing my story with the people in attendance on Thursday.”

Hatfield said he plans to talk about what being a veteran means to him and delve into his experiences as a member of the military.

After spending eight years active duty with the United States Marine Corps, Hatfield was given an honorable discharge and moved back to his native Portsmouth. He then spent six years as an officer with the Portsmouth Police Department before enlisting in the Ohio Army National Guard in 2007. Soon thereafter he was deployed to Iraq for a year.

Wymer, who has been the chief organizer of the program for the past five years, said having a set program is her goal when putting together the tribute.

“In the past we have always had an honor guard, but this year I just can’t get one,” she said. “But we will have a great program that everyone will enjoy and I urge anyone who can make it to come to the tribute and hear a great story and some beautiful music.”

The program will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the national anthem, which will be performed by OUS student Michelle Dodds. Interim Dean Dan Evans will welcome people to the event before the Ironton High School Varsity Singers perform some songs and Dodds sings “American Anthem.” Hatfield will then give his address before a few more songs are performed and the program will conclude with a moment of silence and the playing of “Taps.”

Ella Jones, McCown’s wife and OUS associate dean, established the Hon. Frank J. McCown Lecture Series after the Common Pleas Court Judge died from leukemia on May 16, 2007.