LCHS JROTC program was the top JROTC program in the nation the last 17 years donating to the Ronald McDonald house
Major (RET) Gary Siembor and his wonderful wife Wawa made their 18th and last trip to the Ronald McDonald house to turn in over 60 pounds of pop tabs the JROTC department collected. The pop tabs are turned in to recycling for cash to help the Ronald McDonald house in Huntington WV.
Ronald McDonald House is a home-away-from-home for families who must travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles outside of their own community to seek medical treatment for a child. Ronald McDonald Houses are located near hospitals that provide specialized care for children. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, each House offers parents and family members of seriously ill children a refuge from the hospital – a room of their own with a comfortable bed, kitchen and laundry facilities, and toys for the kids. Families who stay at the House find other families with the same concerns, and staff and volunteers who listen and care. Houses are designed to encourage interaction among their guests to help them cope during an extremely difficult time. Ronald McDonald Houses offer all of this to families for only a small contribution; if that is not possible, no one is turned away.
JROTC has been supporting the Ronald McDonald house in a big way under the guidance of Major Siembor the last 18 years. LCHS JROTC program was the top JROTC program in the nation the last 17 years donating to the Ronald McDonald house. Even more impressive is that Major’s JROTC class has been ranked the number one school in the Tri-State Region for the last 15 years in a row.
Major Siembor’s JROTC class of about 120 students have ‘out collected’ entire schools in the region, including schools that have populations over 1,000 students. “That is just commitment and desire.” Major Siembor said. “It was great for many of my students who had little to give, an opportunity to show them that they could still help others.”
Sadly the amazing streak of 15 years in first place will come to an end as the new cadre, as well as the school administration, doesn’t appear to want to take on the challenge of collecting and delivering. Usually near the end of school Major Siembor would schedule a school bus, load up any cadets whom wanted to go and deliver the pop tabs. They would dress in their dress uniforms and take a tour of the house and afterwards stop somewhere nice for dinner.
A great tradition, however due to medical problems, Major Siembor was unable to schedule that last bus ride. So Wawa, his wife and him made the journey by themselves and said good-bye to the wonderful staff that works at Ronald McDonald House.
Major Siembor will be officially be retired from the Lawrence County High School on 1 July 2017. We wish him the best.