The mother of a local hero recently received a surprise visit accompanied by a very special presentation  from the United States Army.

Colleen McGinnis, a Teacher at Cedar Bluff School was visited by members of the United States Army’s 4th Battalion 321st Regimen Unit to be presented with a special Award on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

Recently, her son Sgt. Tony McGinnis unit was deactivated and all the awards that were previously coming for the troops were finally awarded.

Sgt. McGinnis was presented the Army Achievement Award for exceptional  meritorious achievement from April 11th – April 16th while competing in the 800th Logistical  Support Brigade Training Exercise in Fort Lewis Washington.

On July 4, 2016, McGinnis, assigned to the 800th Logistics Support Brigade Headquarters, died in a motorcycle accident in Centre. Originally from Cedar Bluff, 22-year-old McGinnis was riding a Ducati motorcycle through Centre when he was struck by another vehicle. McGinnis was wearing a helmet and all the proper personal protective equipment.

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YSVL8SJArA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]