New York Film Academy’s Division of Veteran Services (DVS) attended New York City’s Mayor de Blasio’s 2021 breakfast reception in honor of Veterans Day. Over 250 veterans and active service members attended the Veterans Day breakfast, including NYFA’s DVS Director, Command Sergeant Major (ret.) Christopher Moore. Mayor de Blasio’s remarks were inspiring and addressed some of the divisions our society is facing, “there are a lot of challenges, and in some ways, it has become a little too fashionable to talk about our divisions. I look around the room right now, I don’t see any divisions. I don’t see any negativity. I don’t see people who can’t work together or find a common bond. To every veteran in this room, to every veteran in this city, to every veteran in this country – we march with you.”
James Hendon, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services, also provided motivating remarks. The Commissioner welcomed everyone including the New York Film Academy. The Commissioner went on to say, “in a time of many challenges, the armed forces continue to be one of the things that people across the board can respect and believe in. So, I wanted to ask you to salute everyone in this room.”
NYFA’s DVS Director, Chris Moore, also attended the New York City Veterans Day Parade where roughly 200 marching units, including bands, floats, vintage vehicles, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul marched up Fifth Avenue from 29th Street to 45th Street. The in-person Veterans Day Parade returned for the first time in 2-years. The parade honored all the brave men and women both past and present.
In the past 10 years, NYFA has proudly welcomed nearly 2,500 veterans and servicemembers’ dependents as students at NYFA; the NYFA community is grateful to each for their service to our country.