During the school year, 20 students with the Criminal Justice Club at Bradford Area High School have conducted fundraisers with one goal in mind — to visit Washington, D.C., and see monuments, museums and buildings of interest.
When the club, under the supervision of lead advisor Hiel “Butch” Bartlett, finally made it to the nation’s capital, they hadn’t expected an added bonus of visiting with a number of Honor Flight veterans. Also serving as one of the chaperones was assistant adviser and School Resource Officer Matt Gustin.
The club, which has been conducted by Bartlett, a Bradford City Police officer, for the past nine years, attempts to travel to Washington every other year. He said a number of former club members have taken up law enforcement, or related fields, as their careers. Several current club members also give back to the community by serving as volunteers at local fire departments.
In describing fundraisers they held to aid their trip to Washington from April 28 to May 1, the students said they sold pizza, kettle corn, spaghetti and chili dinners and chocolate bars this school year. The amount raised was $610 for each youngster to travel by coach bus to the Dulles area for a three-night, four day stay at a hotel. The trip included meals, a dinner cruise and tours around Washington with visits to the Pentagon and the new National Law Enforcement Museum.
While the club members enjoyed every aspect of the trip, several said the best part of the experience was their encounter with Honor Flight veterans from the Philadelphia and Arizona areas. Coincidentally, a group of veterans from the Bradford area, which was organized by the school district, also traveled to Washington this past weekend with the Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight.
“We met Honor Flights (groups) who were visiting and we got to hear some of their stories,” said
club member Ellen Collins.
Another student with the club added, “It was our goal to shake every hand of veterans we saw.”
Club member Alan Burritt said he, too, liked meeting the veterans.
“We got to say the Pledge of Allegiance with a Korean War vet at the memorial, which I thought was amazing,” Burritt remarked. “(The veteran) mentioned some things, such as he was a prisoner of war.”
Gustin said the veteran used that opportunity to teach the students a history lesson.
“Out of 7,500 POWs in the Korean War, he asked if any of us knew how many prisoners survived … it was around 3,500 people,” Gustin said of the veteran’s calculations.
Gustin said one of the nicest compliments given to the club members also came from a group of Honor Flight veterans.
“At the end when we left (a memorial site) they literally yelled, ‘Hey green shirts, you made our day,’” Gustin said, explaining the Bradford High group wore bright, lime green shirts during some of their tours. “That was pretty cool.”
The club members, who are in grades nine through 12, said the after-school group always welcomes new members. The group, which meets every other Tuesday, provides community services that include helping with fundraisers, assisting with dinners at the VFW for first responders, assisting with projects at other schools and helping with YMCA’s Kids Fest in the past.
