Students at Elizabethton High School are looking to do their part to honor the life and career of a former Cyclone.

EHS Sociology teacher Alex Campbell recently announced that some of the Cyclone class is organizing a private ceremony for Friday, March 9, beginning at 12:30 p.m. to honor Sgt. Todd W. McKeehan. Students are bringing in various speakers from areas, such as New Orleans and Alaska, to remember the alum — who lost his life in a raid outside Waco, Texas, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 25 years ago against David Koresh and the Branch Davidians cult group.

According the desire is to have McKeehan’s former classmates, friends, former teachers and coaches be in attendance for the ceremony.

“In sociology, we discuss a variety of topics and we talked about the Waco event,” Campbell said. “We talked about Sgt. McKeehan and the students were very interested. We spent two days on the topic and they went out of their way to put together a private ceremony for friends and loved ones from Sgt. McKeehan.

The Todd W. McKeehan Remembrance Ceremony will include speeches from one of McKeehan’s close friends Mark LaPorte, ATF colleague Chuck Hustmyre and brother Brad McKeehan.

Campbell added the entire class has played a pivotal role in organizing the event, with students Kayla Vandeventer and Cassidy Kaldy also speaking during the ceremony.

Following his graduation from EHS, McKeehan pursued his law enforcement career by working with the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, interning with the U.S. Marshal Service, serving with the United States Marine Corps Reserve was called to duty during Operation Desert Shield in Nov. 1990.

McKeehan graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1988 as a member of the National Honor Society and went on to join the ATF in 1989 by serving with the New Orleans Field Division. During his three-year career with ATF, he was the recipient of two Special Act Awards for “significant contributions to major investigations,” according to the department’s website.

Friends and family of McKeehan can check in the front office at the school prior to the start of the event.