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Reed City High School student, Kavin Haney, waits to play Taps during military honors for veterans at a recent service. Haney has been playing Taps for the Reed City VFW/AmVets organization for the past year. (Submitted photo)
REED CITY -- Sixteen-year-old, Kavin Haney, has been playing Taps during military honors for veterans for the past year.
Haney will be a senior at Reed City High School in the fall and plays bugle in the high school band.
Haney said after the first military honors he performed, it was really hard to see the family suddenly show powerful emotion when he began to play.
"It is very hard not to become emotional yourself, but you have to continue to perform flawlessly to honor that veteran," he said.
Haney's mother, Stacy Holmes, said it was amazing to hear him play with all the pressure to perform, but he does an amazing job.
"Kavin is my youngest son and has been volunteering for this for almost a year," Holmes said. "This is the first time I was allowed to see it in person, because he was playing for a relative's military honors. It is really amazing to hear."
Veteran Bill Yost, who is in charge of the Honor Guard for VFW/AmVets in Reed City, said they approached Haney last year about playing Taps for them.
"He plays at military funerals for us," Yost said. "This is his first year, and we will have him until he graduates."
According to Yost, the VFW/AmVets organization has had band members from the high school playing Taps for them for 50 or 60 years.
"We have had an ongoing relationship with the high school," Yost said. "People would rather have a person playing Taps at the service, rather than a recording.
"Kavin has been doing a great job for us," he continued. "When he graduates, we will, hopefully, get another student to do it. People prefer that personal touch."
