Events around Bryan County to mark Veterans Day are scheduled Thursday and Friday.

Bryan County Middle and High schools will host a program in the gym at 9 a.m. Thursday to honor local veterans. Doors open at 8:30 a.m.

The city of Pembroke’s ceremony will begin downtown at 11 a.m. Friday with special guest speaker Rev. Harold Piet, U.S. Army (Ret.).

The city of Richmond Hill’s ceremony will also begin at 11 a.m. in J.F. Gregory Park. The event will feature speakers, a 21-gun salute and laying of a wreath.

Prior to the ceremony, soldiers from Fort Stewart will run in formation from the fort to the park carrying an American flag. Their route, beginning at 6 a.m., will take them through downtown Hinesville to Leroy Coffer Highway, then onto U.S. 17 and onto Ford Avenue, finishing at the park around 10:30 a.m.

And while The Capt. Matthew Freeman 5K had to be canceled this year due to Hurricane Matthew's destruction on many parts of the trail at J.F. Gregory Park, Game Changers Health & Fitness Complex will be hosting two events on Veterans Day, including the Capt. Matthew Freeman & Veterans Memorial Walk.

“Game Changers wanted to find a way to honor Capt. Freeman and all of our local veterans, as well as encourage people to come to Richmond Hill for the Veterans Day activities held by the city at J.F. Gregory Park at 11 a.m.,” according to Sandra Elliott of Georgia Game Changers Running Company.

Georgia Game Changers coordinated with Jalapeno's, the YMCA and the HOA Board of the Richmond Place community to host the walk. It will be similar to, but shorter (about 2.5 miles), than the route used this summer for the Red Hot Chili Pepper 5K. The walk will start at 9 a.m.

The walk is free and open to all in the community. Participants should register on the Georgia Game Changers Facebook page, or at the store. 

Mary Beth Macias, Capt. Freeman's sister, will have a table honoring Matthew's life with information about the Freeman Project, depicting how the project helps military families who have suffered the loss of a service member.

Elliott also partnered with the local Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) chairpersons, Chris Lancia and Indira Glennon, to host a “Workout of the Day” from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions start about every 20 minutes. Those interested can sign up at the link below.  

Please register at https://www.crowdrise.com/georgia-game-changers so we can track our numbers. There are three options: $20 (attending and ordering a special event shirt), free (attending but no shirt), and $10 (attending and donating $10 to Team RWB).

The workout is called “Armistice” and is an 11-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible). It includes 11 push-ups, 11 burpees, 19 sit-ups, and 18 air squats. The significance is the 11 minutes represent the 11th month, 11 push-ups represents the 11th day, 11 burpees represents the 11th hour, while the 19 sit-ups and 18 air squats represent the year 1918.

The Veterans Day WOD for Warriors is a Team RWB staple, and they do two WODs every year: one for Veterans Day and one for Memorial Day. Game Changers will be the third location (as of last week) in Georgia. Currently a WOD for Warriors is also scheduled in Atlanta and in Augusta.

There are prizes this year for the location with the most reps completed during the workout. The top three receive an equipment package from Rx Equipped, which can be donated to an organization in Richmond Hill. Veterans and military members get to double their repetition count, so Elliott is hoping to encourage a large military participation.

For more information, contact Georgia Game Changers Running Company at (912) 445-2163.