The University of Alabama Campus Veterans Association celebrates the veterans of Tuscaloosa and the University at its first-annual Veteran’s Banquet on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Hotel Capstone Ballroom.

Although the event is open to all who wish to attend, the banquet is intended to honor the accomplishments of Tuscaloosa’s veterans and their dependents. The event will also pay homage to some of the faculty who contributed to the Veteran’s Association.

The veteran’s banquet, which has been in the planning process for about two months, is possible because of a partnership among the Campus Veteran’s Association, the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the Student Government Association.

Activities at the banquet will include a presentation of awards and a group of speakers. The CVA will present the Mark Forester Memorial award to an outstanding veteran in honor of Forester, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. An award will also be given to the dependent child or spouse of a veteran as well as to an outstanding faculty member.

“We have quite a few dependents of veterans on campus,” Jordan Carpenter, president of the Campus Veterans Association, explained. “We want to give these awards to celebrate the accomplishments of our community and to recognize the faculty who support us. In the future, we would probably like to highlight faculty who are veterans as well.”

The banquet will feature speeches from Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, the Chairman of Military Affairs, Commissioner Jeff Brown and several other veterans and retired military officers from the community.

Registration for the banquet is now closed because 200 people are already expected to attend, which is the event’s maximum capacity. Those who would still like to attend are encouraged to contact David Blair, director of the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.

Dress code for the event is described as semi-formal, and prices for students will start at $10 and non-students will be charged $20, but prices may vary depending on the requested table size. The SGA contributed by paying for the first 40 students who registered for the banquet.

“This is an opportunity for veterans to come together,” Blair said. “It gives them an opportunity to intermingle with other veterans from campus and make connections with faculty and staff members who are also veterans. We have a couple of fraternities that will be there as well.”

“[The banquet] is intended to celebrate the accomplishments of our community,” Carpenter added.  “[The CVA] had some events like this in the past, but nothing to this scale, so we are calling it the ‘first annual’ banquet.”

The CVA, an organization founded in by Ashkan Bayatpour in 2009, seeks to assist student veterans who are transitioning from military to college life. Since its inception, the CVA has been active in a range of activities including veterans’ affairs as well as tornado relief.

On May 19, the organization will travel to Haleyville to participate in the Mark Forester Price of Freedom Run to honor the fallen veteran.

If You Go

What: Campus Veterans Association Banquet

Where: Hotel Capstone Ballroom

When: Thursday at 6 p.m.