MONT ALTO, Pa. — Lt. Col. Barbara B. Cross will be the featured speaker during the Penn State Mont Alto Student Veterans Association’s annual Veterans Day celebration on Nov. 9. The event will begin at 12:20 p.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial behind Conklin Hall on the Mont Alto campus. The public is invited to attend.

Upon graduating from Chatham College, Cross was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, where she retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel after a 25-year career. She was recalled from retirement to active duty from 2004 to 2006 to support the global war on terrorism.

Her extensive military background includes intelligence, logistics, acquisitioning and budgeting. In addition to various military schools and programs, Cross received her master of science degree in organizational development and leadership from Shippensburg University, where she serves as a member of the advisory board for the College of Arts and Sciences. She also has established an annual Reserved Officers' Training Corps scholarship to recognize the next generation of military leaders at Shippensburg University.

In 2008, Cross was appointed to the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners by the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas to fill an unexpired term. Subsequently, she was elected as a commissioner and served a four-year term as the chairman of the board.

In her role as a county commissioner, Cross served as a member on the County Prison Board, the County Conservation District, Cumberland-Perry Counties’ Drug and Alcohol Commission, and the Victim Witness Policy Board. She was an active member of the County Commissioners’ Association of Pennsylvania, serving as chair of the Governance Committee, a member of the Election Reform Committee, and as a founding member of the Military Family and Veterans Committee.

For more information about the event, contact Debra Collins, director of public relations and marketing, at dlc43@psu.edu or 717-749-6112.