The Mizzou Student Veterans Association has several events planned this year, beginning with its annual welcome barbecue this past Saturday.

MU student veterans were invited to the barbecue to meet fellow veterans and enjoy free food.

The organization has been planning the event for about three months, Mizzou Student Veterans Association President Trista Corbin said. She and executive board member Jon Picray were involved with the planning of this event and other activities. Their jobs for this event included checking IDs, setting up the event and talking to the veterans as they arrived.

Members from the Veterans Hospital were also at the barbecue, including Stephen Gaither, who has a long-standing relationship with the MSVA.

“We continue to work with them and the Veterans Center to make sure combat veterans know of their benefits,” he said.

One veteran who attended the event was Kevin Melkowski, who was in the Navy for five years and is currently inactive. He is now a senior majoring in engineering and math.

“It had its ups and downs, but a lot of downs,” he said, in reference to his service in the Navy.

Melkowski joined the Navy right after high school, saying it was something he had wanted to do since he was a kid.

This is the second year Melkowski has been involved with the MSVA. He said though he enjoys the association, life since the Navy has been boring.

“You can’t compete with a 21-hour day,” he said.

Traci Payne, a new student at MU, also attended the event. She was in the Air Force for 11 years but left because life was getting in the way, she said.

“(My daughter) is starting kindergarten,” she said. “It’s hard to keep up with that lifestyle.”

Payne said moving from the military to the classroom has been a huge transition. Payne became involved in the association by going to the Veterans Center on campus to get information about benefits, she said.

“I thought I might as well meet some people with the same background,” she said.

Joel Francisco, the former president of the association, said he tries to support the association however he can. Francisco served in the Air Force for five years and plans to join the National Guard soon. He said he joined the Air Force after Sept. 11.

“I loved it and didn’t plan on getting out,” he said. “I was going to do ROTC, but that’s a young crowd.”

He said one of the difficulties he’s had since being out of the Air Force has been not having a regiment.

“If you ask any veteran, they’ll tell you they have a hard time transitioning,” he said.

The MSVA has several other events planned for the year, Corbin said. She says the biggest events will occur during Veterans Week, which takes an entire year of planning. The week will include speakers, a blood drive, a banquet and even a Patriot Day barbecue hosted by the chancellor.