The Town of West Hartford will hold its annual Veterans Day ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, featuring LaToya Fernandez Yagaloff as the guest speaker.

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LaToya Fernandez Yagaloff, USMC, Electrician, Lance Corporal, 2005-2009, and West Hartford Board of Education member, will be the guest speaker for the 2024 Veterans Day Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, at 11 a.m., at the Connecticut Veterans Memorial West Hartford, corner of Farmington Avenue and North Main Street. (The rain location is the Town Hall Auditorium).

LaToya Fernandez Yagaloff. Courtesy photo (we-ha.com file photo)

Yagaloff is a community leader and activist. Yagaloff founded YouthHype, a community-based organization that inspires youth to be civically engaged and self-aware. She uses her platform to support and amplify youth voice. Yagaloff works in education supporting schools to create alternatives to suspension and cultivate a climate of restorative practice, accountability, and cultural responsiveness.

For 13 years, Yagaloff was a Restorative Practices change agent and community activist in San Jose, California. She returned to her home state of Connecticut in 2021, and launched her business as a Restorative Justice Trainer and Facilitator. She provides training programs for youth and staff in juvenile detention facilities and DCF group homes. She is the founder of Beyond Circles, a restorative practice consulting space.

Yagaloff is the author of “Truth – An Empowerment Guide for Youth and Allies,” a book that supports students’ journey with self-confidence, social issues, and healthy relationships.

Yagaloff was the first Diversity Equity Inclusion Officer for the City of Norwalk and currently serves on the Board of Education in West Hartford.

In addition to Yagaloff, the Veterans Day ceremony speakers will include Mayor Shari Cantor and state Sen. Derek Slap. The emcee is American Legion Post 96 Commander Heidi-Anne Mooney, USMC, Combat Engineer, Capt. 1990-1998, and Assistant Scoutmaster Troop 146 at West Hartford United Methodist Church. Chaplain LTC Sean Nolan will give the invocation and the benediction. He is the Rear Detachment Commander for 436th Transportation Battalion of the United States Army Reserve.

Delia Canarie, a Conard High School junior, will sing the National Anthem, and Zander Bos, a senior at Xavier High School and Boy Scout with Troop 146, will play “America the Beautiful” on the violin and TAPS on the bugle.

Members of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 96 and the Hayes-Velhage Post 96 will present the memorial wreath. Color guards from the American Legion Post 96 and West Hartford Police and West Hartford Fire departments are also part of the ceremony honoring veterans.

American Legion Post 96 has been serving veterans and the West Hartford community since 1922. Military veterans who have served honorably and military personnel currently on active duty are invited to join the organization.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held indoors at 11 a.m. in the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium, 50 South Main Street, West Hartford.

In West Hartford, municipal offices, libraries, community center, and senior centers are closed on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in observance of Veterans Day. Public schools and education offices will remain open. There are no delays in the collection of trash and recyclables.

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