(Photo by Kyle Muscarello)

GATESVILLE (November 9, 2012)--A group of students in the Culinary Arts program at Gatesville High School celebrated Veteran's Day early on Friday by preparing a hot breakfast for local veterans and soldiers at North Fort Hood.

Gatesville Independent School District Superintendent Stewart Spear said about 100 veterans and active duty soldiers showed up for a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, and eggs, which was prepared by culinary arts students and funded by the Gatesville chapter of the Exchange Club.

The culinary arts program includes a total of 30 to 40 students, taught by JoAnn Suggs and Jan Wynn.

Members of the Gatesville Hornets football team, which has already earned a designation as district champions and is playing for a perfect 10-0 season Friday night in Liberty Hill, served the breakfast.

It's an annual event that Speer says is growing and has become an important of the school's participation in community events.

Following the breakfast the entire student body, joined by students from the Oglesby Independent School District, assembled at McKamie Stadium to hear both students and veterans speak about the meaning of Veteran's Day and to view a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and other military static displays.