<p>Moss Bluff Middle School students and faculty show their appreciation for civil servants and first responders at last year’s annual SOS (Supporting Our Servants) Rally. </p>Special to the American Press

<p class="p1">Moss Bluff Middle School will hold its third annual Supporting Our Servants Rally at 9 a.m. Friday, May 11, in the school gym.

<p class="p1">Students will honor local service members and first responders through music and art. Sheriff Tony Mancuso, the main speaker, will talk about his law enforcement experience.

<p class="p1">The SOS Club was started by seventh-grade teacher Toni Perry. “I’ve always felt a really big pull to honor our service people,” she said.

<p class="p1">The club was started to support deployed servicemen, Perry said, but on learning of the death of state police Trooper Steven Vincent she broadened its scope.

<p class="p1">Students throughout the year have been learning about service members and first responders, Perry said. Each month an officer or service member visited the club and shared insights and experiences, she said.

<p class="p1">The students asked questions and handled some tools of the trade and afterward wrote letters of thanks to the person, Perry said. The club even raised money to adopt an Army Ranger and sent items of appreciation overseas.

<p class="p1">The rally is the club’s culminating event, she said. Often, Perry said, “kids don’t have any outlet to say thank you.”

<p class="p1">Additionally, she said, the SOS Club gives students the opportunity to see beyond a uniform and understand that law officers are “real people who are there to help.” 

<p class="p1">Members of service agencies who plan to attend the rally are asked to call 217-4570. Light refreshments will be served before the start of the event.