Keynote Speaker

Retired Marine Corps Maj. Barron Mills

OCOEE, Fla. – The public is invited to attend the City of Ocoee’s 22nd Annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 11 a.m., at the Ocoee Lakeshore Center, 125 North Lakeshore Drive.

The city is honored to have Retired Marine Corps Maj. Barron Mills as its keynote speaker. Having grown up as the son of a career Army officer and then serving in the Marine Corps himself for 20 years, Maj. Mills has been on five continents and to dozens of countries. His prior experiences include leading Marines on missions in the Mediterranean, Haiti, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. His military career included a variety of roles such as a project manager for a $42-miliion-dollar simulation training system, managing the operations of a schoolhouse with 14 programs of instruction and over 6,000 annual students, building a 5,000-man Iraqi infantry brigade, managing a base in western-Iraq for 2,000 coalition members, and leading a 35-man platoon in conducting security operations in Bosnia and Haiti. He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2016.

Ocoee resident Sherrí Gladney will sing the National Anthem while the Ocoee Middle School Wind Ensemble will play a medley of songs. The Ocoee Police and Fire Department Honor Guards will present the colors. A wreath will be displayed at the city’s Memorial Wall and an Ocoee High School Band member will play “Taps”.  Refreshments will be served after the ceremony. 

For more information, please call 407-905-3100.

About the City of Ocoee – Ideally situated at the heart of all of Central Florida’s major highways and expressways, Ocoee is home to a vibrant residential and business community making it an ideal place to live, raise a family and grow a business.  With a population of nearly 50,000, Ocoee is the third largest city in Orange County known for its exceptional quality of life, boat launches, fishing docks, nature trails, picnic areas, sports facilities and playgrounds. For more information, visit www.ocoee.org.