Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54MY YM UNIT YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE 7 The First Battalion Georgia Young Marines Birthday Ball By YM/GySgt Micenna Brooks Etowah Valley (GA) Young Marines units tradition- ally stage Birthday Balls. The 51st Young Marines Birthday Ball was one of the most memorable ones I have attended.I have been to seven Young Marine Birthday Balls, and each year the ball is different. This year Mr. Joseph Venable,Young Marines National Depu- ty Director, visited my unit headquarters and came to the my battalion’s celebration. Two units attended this ball, my unit and the Genral Raymond G. Davis Young Marines. It is always more memorable when different units come together. Our two units had just spent the entire previous weekend together for Search and Rescue Training, so it was fun to see everyone go from covered in dirt and mud on Sun- day to being dressed up in formal attire the next Saturday. When I arrived, a few Young Marines were helping out with last minute details. I made sure to help out as much as I could, and then went to greet the other Young Marines and their families as they arrived. I did that for a while until a good friend of mine came in and then ended up getting a bit sidetracked. The next thing I know, my dad comes over and tells me, “Micenna, Mr. Venable is here.” When I heard that, I excused myself from the conversa- tion to say hello to Mr. Venable, who I had not seen since GAHA. It took me a moment to rec- ognize him because when we met at the Marine Corps Museum during GAHA he was wearing jeans and a Young Marines shirt.This time he was in formal wear. Mr. Venable and I spoke for a while about vari- ous topics until it was about time for the ball to actually start. I went and sat down at a table along with many of my friends and my parents. A few moments later, Mr. Venable sat down at our table. That was a very interesting thing, because there were five Young Marines sitting down at that table and we all had some very interesting conversations with Mr.Venable. Mr. Venable delivered a wonderful speech. He did manage to catch us off guard though, by calling on someone from the audience to recite the Young Marine Obligation,and he called on me! I would be lying if I said that did not surprise me. As the evening continued, I realized just how lucky I am to be a part of such a life-changing program and have the family that I have found with my fellow Young Marines. I hope you all find or already find yourself looking at your other Young Marines as family, no matter where they live. Atlantic Coast: Happy Birthday Wishes to the Young Marines! By YM/PFC Michael Manley Atlantic Coast (FL) October 17, 2016 was a very excit- ing day because the Young Marines turned 51 years old. To celebrate, the Atlantic Coast Young Marines had an amazing masquerade themed Birth- day Ball. We held our ball at the Ra- mona Pavillion in Jacksonville. Our ball was hosted by our Unit Com- mander, Ms. Kimberly Gibbons. We had a special Guest of Honor. PFC Brianna Vicente of the USMC re- turned home from Parris Island, just 2 days before our ball. PFC Vicente is a former Young Marine, so it was an honor to have her with us. Some of our Young Marines were escorts to greet our guests and es- cort them to their tables. Many of our other Young Marines took part in the ceremony. YM/LCpl M.J. Spath was the Adjutant, YM/Cpl M.C. Spath was the Narrator and YM/Cpl Kudre sang the National Anthem. Many other Young Marines held the position of Color Guard, Cake Es- cort and Honor Guard. The ACYM fol- lowed tradition by having our Oldest Young Marine, YM/Sgt Abraham and Youngest Young Marine, YM/Pvt Ver- non presented with the first piece of cake after the cake cutting by our Unit Executive Officer GySgt Michael Vicente. Another highlight from our Birthday Ball Ceremony was seeing some of my fellow Young Marines receive awards, especially YM/Cpl Christie, who was named Young Ma- rine of the Year. Once the ceremony was finished,we changed into our clothes and masks. Then it was time for chow.We had all of the Young Marines favorites like pizza, and my favorite, chicken strips! Dessert was the delicious Young Ma- rines birthday cake and an Italian Ice Bar. After we ate, the DJ played mu- sic and we danced. It was a great time and we were all honored to celebrate the 51st Birthday of the Young Marines. Happy Birthday Young Marines! Oorah! Top Right: Presentation of Colors. Guest of Honor, PFC Brianna Vincente, Cutting the first piece of cake, honors for YM/Cpl Christie, and the group in masquerade.