Crossroads High School raises funds for Audie Murphy Reset Initiative

By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press

Students and staff at Crossroads High School held a car show on campus Saturday to raise funds for the school’s new Audie Murphy Reset Initiative Program. 
The program was originally started as a JROTC program four months ago, but it was renamed to the Reset Initiative Program due to not being under the 5th Brigade which oversees the Copperas Cove High School JROTC program under JROTC Senior Instructor Chief Warrant Officer III, retired, Enrique Herrera, according to program advisor and teacher Michael Veal, who was hired at Crossroads High School in September 2020. 
Veal is a 26-year Army veteran himself. 
“I can’t really say JROTC because we don’t follow those guidelines, but I can still use the structure because of my background and what I know, so I titled it the Audie Murphy Reset Initiative,” Veal said, adding that he named it after actor and veteran Audie Murphy, who had a film called “Bad Boy” that was about juvenile delinquents. 
“I said, ‘It’s perfect. It’s taking these young adults, some of the ones that will listen, if they give me their ear, and will hear and take the advantages to gain life skills,’” Veal said. 
While working at Crossroads, Veal saw how much these students in particular are dealing with in their lives. 
“These kids are faced with a lot of negativity,” Veal said. “The teachers can’t come here with negativity. The teachers have to come with positive attitudes, reinforcement.”
Mandi Miller, also with the Audie Murphy Reset Initiative, said the program is “a way to get the kids integrated into the ideals and the values of the military and help them segue into a second part of their life after graduation.”
“When we set it up, we didn’t realize how expensive it was going to be, so we did not have workout/ PT uniforms, we did not have camouflage clothes/BDUs,” Miller said. “We had nothing, so we started to figure out how are we going to do that, so we put this together to raise money.” 
Participation is limited due to the pandemic, as only approximately 24 students attend class on campus at Crossroads, and only 12 signed up. Of those 12, seven are still participating. 
“The program, it went from one to 100, and I’m trying to get it to 1,000,” Veal said. “It is still moving forward, it is still growing. I know the program is going to grow because they love what it is giving to them. The kids that are staying, they see my genuine concern for them, that I do care about their well-being, not just another teacher yapping.”
Veal said that the program helps connect the students from school to the economy. The students learn how to write resumes, how to write a five-year plan, what makes a good citizen and how to become one and what makes a good leader.  
Veal called the car show a success after seeing a majority of the parking spaces at Crossroads full of different cars. 
Each car owner paid a registration fee, and raffle tickets for various prizes donated by sponsors were sold for $1 a piece or $5 for six raffle tickets and $10 for 12 raffle tickets. 
They also handed out awards for 1st through 3rd place in 10 categories: Chevy, Ford, Import, Mopar/Jeep, Custom, Classic Car, Classic Truck, Motorcycle and Muscle Car, as well as awards for Best in Show Male, Best in Show Female, Kid’s Choice and Principal’s Choice. 
Fred and Doris Bee brought their 1950 Ford Tudor to the car show Saturday. 
“The first car I ever owned was a 1950 Ford, and I joined the Army, retired here, wanted a car, couldn’t find one that I could afford,” Bee said. “I finally found this car in east Texas for $9,500, and it ran. It’s worth $10,000 just because it ran.” 
Bee bought the car and fixed it up. The car still has its original engine and has antique plates and only gets taken out for maintenance and for car shows. 
Bee said that he and his wife love coming to car shows. 
“The one thing about a car show- everybody’s got something in common: the love of cars,” Bee said. “We like it. It gives us something to do.”
 Robert Butler brought his Spiderman themed 2017 Polaris Slingshot to the car show. This was his second car show that he entered his vehicle into, and he said he hopes to go to more. 
He said he liked that the show was raising money for the Reset Initiative at Crossroads. 
“I think that’s amazing,” Butler said. “The military teaches you things that you don’t learn at home, that you don’t have to learn at home, so I’m all for the Reset Program.”