MOUNT VERNON — On Wednesday the Mount Vernon Lions Club held a Liberty Day assembly for Mount Vernon eighth-graders.
Lion Mary Bumpus welcomed the teens to the assembly, and explained that although liberty is actually a small word, it is a very important word.
After the presentation of colors by the Knox County Career Center junior ROTC color guard, Lion Joe Gutridge led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced the first speaker, Tom Ashley, also a member of the Mount Vernon Lions Club.
Ashley gave a brief history of Liberty Day, a project designed to educate Americans, especially young Americans, about the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Although many schools choose to celebrate Liberty Day on March 16 — the birthday of the father of the Constitution, James Madison, Gutridge said every day is Liberty Day. The MVMS celebration was held Wednesday because the students are currently studying U.S. History.
