As one theme of his speech Wednesday night, Colonel Chad D. Skaggs was seeking connection between himself and his audience.
"Such a small portion of the general population serve, or have served, in the military,
and even in the military, we are on the bases or in the field. There is a bit of a isolation, and I hope tonight I can make a connection," Skaggs said in a short interview prior to his speech.
From the standing ovations that estimated crowd of 100 persons at the Fulton Senior Center, who braved inclement weather, Skaggs clearly succeeded in that part of his presentation.
Skaggs, an Army Colonel based in Huntsville, Ala., also said it was a happy, if infrequent homecoming for him, saying "This is only about the fourth time in the past 25 years I've been back home. It is amazing the changes that have occurred here."
Prior to his speech, Skaggs said that his staying power in the service for 25 years has largely been attributed to one thing.
"I love coming to work everyday. I love my job. I love what I do in serving the country," he said.
Other than his hometown roots as a 1986 graduate of New Bloomfield High School and a 1991 graduate of Westminster College, his wife Stacy is a graduate of William Woods, and they have been married 23 years.
Among those in the crowd Wednesday night was Skaggs' mother, Michele Smith.