“Freedom isn’t free” – that phrase was repeated several times during a ceremony at Sand Creek High School on April 25. The Freedom Shrine, previously presented to Falcon High School by the Exchange Club of Falcon, was dedicated to Dane Balcon, a 2006 SCHS graduate killed in Iraq.The auditorium was packed with students, and Daniel Spengler, pastoral care director of The Church for all Nations, gave the invocation, starting out with words about Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner.The Air Force ROTC Rifle Drill Team performed after the invocation. Balcon was the drill team’s first instructor.Balcon’s mother, U.S. Air Force Capt. Carla Sizer, spoke at the ceremony. She accepted a plaque in honor of her son and said that “those who serve their country give the country a blank check, payable up to and including their life.”Sand Creek Principal Mike Collins, Andy Condor of the Exchange Club, Christopher Powell (in character as Ben Franklin) and student body president Jamar Harrison also spoke at the ceremony.The Exchange Club of Falcon is a national service organization for men and women who want to serve their community. The Exchange Club has more than 800 clubs and nearly 28,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The clubs’ programs are oriented toward service, youth and the prevention of child abuse.
