Those wanting to honor the sacrifices of those who died while serving in the armed forced are invited to attend the annual Memorial Day program Monday in Athens.

The free event begins at 11 a.m. at the Limestone County Event Center at 114 W. Pryor St., Athens. Refreshments will be available to the public following the event at the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives, directly across from the event center.

Museum Director Sandy Thompson said this year’s program would again include the laying of wreaths symbolizing each branch of the service. The program will also include the reading of the names of those veterans who have died since the 2016 program. This year’s bell will ring 104 times.

About the speaker

The featured speaker at this year’s program is Maj. Gen. James E. Simpson, Commanding General, U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) at Redstone Arsenal. He has been in the position since August 2015.

ACC, a subordinate command of Army Materiel Command, is comprised of two subordinate commands — the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command and the U.S. Army Expeditionary Contracting Command — and six major contracting centers. Its workforce includes more than 6,000 military and civilian personnel at more than 100 locations worldwide.

ACC awarded and managed more than 166,000 contract actions valued at nearly $57 billion in fiscal year 2016.

Simpson was commissioned in 1985 after graduating from Lander University in Greenwood, S.C., as an ROTC distinguished military graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science. He has a master’s in public administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He also earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Texas at Arlington, a certificate in management from the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia; and a master’s certificate in government contract management from George Washington University.

His military education includes the Air Defense Artillery Officer basic and advanced courses, Combined Arms Services staff school, Training with Industry, Command and General staff college, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Simpson is Level III certified in contracting and Level II certified in program management. Prior to assuming command of ACC, he was the director of contracting and the deputy to the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement.