Class of ‘70, VMI

from VMI Communications and Marketing:
VMI’s Finals activities for the Class of 2011 will be occurring on:

* Saturday, 14 May (Institute Awards in the morning, Graduation Parade in the afternoon, Baccalaureate in the evening)
* Sunday, 15 May (Commissioning in the morning, New Market Parade in the afternoon) and
* Monday, 16 May (Graduation at 11:00)

We have been advised that Washington and Lee will be having their Undergraduate Reunion on Friday and Saturday, 14-15 May 2011.  It is estimated that approximately half of all local hotel rooms may be used by Washington & Lee reunion attendees on Friday and Saturday.
For those VMI parents and friends who planned to arrive on Friday or Saturday, you are encouraged to secure hotel rooms early.  Hotel rooms in locations away from Lexington/Natural Bridge should not be impacted, and the Washington and Lee reunion attendees will depart on Sunday. Some VMI attendees coming in early may have to stay outside of Lexington on Friday or Saturday night if they cannot secure local accommodations.

Lexington Area Hotels

(Posted on behalf of Ned Haley)

Hi Everyone, Just received an updated list of registrants for our 40th Reunion, coming up in less than five weeks (April 23-24).  With 78 BRs and 60 spouses, the list now has a total of 138 who have registered as of last Friday.  (Files in email only — contact Ned Haley for a copy).

I’ve heard from a few who won’t be able to join us (and my apologies since - being on the distribution list - you will continue to receive these updates).   There’s still a fair number of you who indicated during the past six months that you were interested in coming to the Reunion, but who haven’t yet registered. So, this is another ‘gentle reminder’ that you have until April 1 to register and still be guaranteed to receive your Class polo shirt - since registration includes indicating your shirt size and April 1 is the cut off to place the order for the monogrammed shirts.  As mentioned earlier, there will be a few extra shirts ordered, and if you’re a late registrant, you may be able to pick up your shirt when you register.   Once the extras are taken - and if it works as it has in the past - there will be a wait of at least several weeks after the Reunion for more shirts to be made.  And that depends on how many additional shirts are needed, since there will undoubtedly be a minimum re-order quantity.

Anyway, if you’re still on the fence, take a look at the list of registrants - and I’m sure you will see names of old friends and even roommates who would enjoy seeing you again! Registration can be done on line through the Alumni Association site, or there’s still time to use the registration form that you should have received in the mail.  If for any reason you are unable to register on line, let one of us on the Reunion Committee know and we’ll help. Looking forward to seeing you in another 4+ weeks!

Ned Haley

For your 40th Reunion Committee:

Bill O’Connor

Bill Gearhart

Bob Copty

Herb Braun

Tom Cooke

Ralph Costen

In an email from Ned Haley, he noted that registrations are well under way with a total of 119 registered which includes 65 Brother Rats.  From memory, this is about half of our 35th and well under our 25th Reunions.  Register by 1 April to ensure you get your shirt.  Online registration is at the VMI Alumni Reunion Central web site, http://www.vmialumni.org/Page.aspx?pid=548

See you in April!

From an email to the Class of ‘68:

Mr. Paulette, Chair of the External Relations Committee, reported on the meeting of the Selection Committee of the Jonathan Myrick Daniels ’61 Humanitarian Award, which he also chairs, held 3 February in Lexington. The Selection Committee reviewed eight candidates and unanimously recommended to the External Relations Committee that Dr. Paul V. Hebert ’68 be the third recipient of the Jonathan Daniels Humanitarian Award. Dr. Hebert, who holds a Ph. D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, has spent his life in humanitarian and development efforts working for the Near East Foundation, the World Bank, and the United Nations throughout South East and South Asia, Iran, the Philippines, Nepal, war torn former Soviet Republics, Sarajevo, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Ethiopia. He was Head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yugoslavia (2001-2003) and in Ethiopia (2003-2008). He currently resides in Nairobi, Kenya with his wife Dr. Mayling Simpson-Hebert where is assisting Catholic Relief Services as a consultant and is also advising and supporting humanitarian conferences and training in East Africa and the Gulf States. Since 2008, he has been helping in a private capacity to raise funds to support a large primary school for children living in a major slum of Nairobi.

A motion was made by Mr. Paulette, seconded by MG Hickerson, that the Board of Visitors approves the recommendation of Dr. Paul V. Hebert ’68 as the third recipient of the Jonathan Myrick Daniels ’61 Humanitarian Award, the award to be presented during Academic Year 2010-2011. The motion passed.

Previous winners were President Jimmy Carter and Ambassador Andrew Young.

Here’s a link to the page on Jonathan Daniels and the award: http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=14481

 Posted on behalf of Ned Haley.

Hi Everyone! It’s Reunion time!!

Last week I sent you the “VMI Class of 1970 Contact List” with the latest contact information for all 350 of our classmates. The email addresses and other info for three of our Brother Rats, Cliff Brooks, Joe Girlando and Bill Murchison, are no longer valid. If you have more current contact info for any of them, please let me know since I no longer have a way to contact them. And obviously there are still other Brother Rats who are missing, or for whom we are missing key information like an email address, and our quest for missing classmates and contact information will continue until we have found them all.

The important thing is you now have a way to reach most of your BRs. Now’s the time to ‘touch base’ with your friends from our years together, especially those whom you haven’t seen or been in contact with since you last saw them at VMI. And if any of them don’t have email (or we just don’t have an email address for them), they won’t receive this note or other communications I send out, including the Class Contact List…… so call them yourself! You’ll have a great conversation if you do, and memories - mostly good, since time does diminish many of the less-fun aspects of what we went through together - will come flooding back.

And now to the Reunion: as of today there are 62 registrants, including spouses and significant others. The deadline for registering is April 1 if you want to receive your “Class of 1970″ polo shirt. Registration includes indicating your shirt size so the correct number of shirts can be made and ready for the Reunion. There’s less than four weeks ’til then, so you are encouraged to register ASAP. Should you register after April 1, there will be a limited number of additional shirts purchased for ‘late-registrants’, and hopefully there will be one for you in your size.

For those of you on the Institute’s mailing list, hopefully you have already received the mailed information about our 40th Reunion on April 23-24, now less than two months away. And if you are not on the “I’s” mailing list, or even if you are, you can see these same documents at the VMI Alumni Reunion Central web site:
http://www.vmialumni.org/Page.aspx?pid=548

You don’t have to register with the alumni web site to access this site or the related reunion documents. Just copy and paste the link to your browser and that should take you to the page with a listing of all the related documents that - after scrolling down to where the class of 70’s information is listed - can be opened individually by just clicking on them one at a time. Included are links to:

• Online Registration
• Printable Registration Form
• Class Invitation Letter
• Schedule of Events
• Hotel Information
• Class Picture Information

If you have any questions, or are unable to access the web site for any reason, let me know and we’ll find another way to get you the information. We understand that the ‘designated Class of ‘70 headquarters’ hotel has only a few smoking rooms left, so if you haven’t already reserved your room you may have to book one of the ‘overflow’ hotels.
We hope you - and your spouse or significant other - can join us for what will be a fabulous and fun weekend! All of us on your 40th Reunion Committee are looking forward to seeing you in Lexington in April.

Ned Haley, for the Committee

Bill O’Connor
Bill Gearhart
Bob Copty
Tom Cooke
Herb Braun
Ralph Costen

Just a reminder — If you have not done so…..
Make your room reservations for the Reunion ASAP — the Holiday Inn Express is almost out of our block of rooms.

See the post below for information and phone numbers.

The Corps of Cadets didn’t let a bottleneck at the entrance to the state Capitol that blocked their route for several minutes prevent them from marching past the reviewing stand to honor Gov. Bob McDonnell on his inauguration day, Jan. 16.The Corps was the largest and last unit in the parade that traveled down Grace Street in downtown Richmond, into Capitol Square, around the Capitol Building, and back out to waiting buses. The exit from Capitol Square of an earlier unit in the parade caused a several minute break in the parade before the cadets march into view.

Read the rest of the article on the VMI website here and while you are there, click on the slide show for some nice pictures.

Also, I received a nice picture from Dick Cheatham who was at the parade.

From VMI Communications and Marketing:

Cadets at Virginia Military Institute will honor Gov. Timothy Kaine Thursday, Jan.  14, when he visits the Institute in the final days of his term, and they will march in the inaugural parade of Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell on the first day of his term on Saturday, Jan. 16.

“As the Commander-in-Chief of the Corps of Cadets, the Governor of Virginia has a special relationship with VMI,” said Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, VMI’s superintendent.  “For us to be able to honor two governors within one week is unique and satisfying.” Gov. Kaine is scheduled to attend a ceremony at VMI at 4 p.m. on Jan. 14.  If conditions are favorable, the Corps of Cadets will march in review for the governor on the Institute’s Parade Ground. If conditions are not favorable, a ceremony will be held in Jackson Memorial Hall. (Note:  Parade cancelled — ‘unsuitable conditions’)

On Jan. 16, the Corps of Cadets will travel to Richmond to participate in the inaugural parade for Gov.-elect McDonnell.  The parade, which begins at about 12:45 p.m. following the swearing-in ceremony, passes in front of reviewing stands at the State Capitol Building.  Viewing of the parade is available along its entire length.  The parade route is along Grace Street between 5th and 9th Streets and then enters Capitol Square.

Webmaster’s Note: I’ll admit it has been a few semesters, but I remember starting up around Belvidere St. in that park — quite a bit further. Fifth to Ninth is only four blocks — march in battalion and you’ll cover half the route!

From multiple news sources:

Nov. 7, 2009 – A Rat collapsed following a training event and was pronounced dead shortly after noon today at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital.

John Alexander Evans, 19, of Highland, Md., collapsed in his Barracks room after completing a 10-mile road march with other members of the Rat Class. Cadet Evans was an International Studies major and a member of the Marine ROTC program.

The cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner.

There is a follow up video from WSLS, Roanoke about the march, with the link here.

Update, 11 November:  Gen Peay posted a statement on Cadet Evans on the VMI Communications web page.   Follow this link to the statement.

VMI cadets have developed an underground transmitter and portable topside receiver that will allow trapped miners to communicate with those above ground. Another group of cadets is working to commercialize this life-saving device.

There will be an interview about this project on all public radio stations in Virginia during the week of 31 October — 6 November.

See the article on the VMI web site here for times and stations.

This article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch was published last month and it came in to me.  I thought I’d pass it along.

Link to article.

From VMI Communications:

The VMI community mourns the loss of two retired professors during the summer.

Most recently, Col. Albert L. Deal III, 71, died Aug. 1, 2009, at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital.

Deal, professor emeritus of mathematics, joined the VMI faculty in 1962 and served until his retirement in 2003.

Earlier in the summer, Dr. Dean B. Foster, 89, professor emeritus of psychology, died June 6, 2009.

Foster served on the VMI faculty, including a period as department head, from 1961 until his retirement in 1985.  He was particularly noted for his study of sleep patterns. His 28-year probe into sleep habits, which continued throughout his faculty years at VMI, included several inventions.

The full article is here.

A good example for the rest of us……

In late June, the VMI Foundation learned that a bequest made to it by the late Robert B. Rust Jr. ’34 will result in a gift of more than $14 million for VMI.

“This magnificent gift is the largest bequest realized by the VMI Foundation,” said Brian S. Crockett, chief executive officer of the VMI Foundation.  “Any gift of this magnitude will have an outsized effect,” said Warren J. Bryan ’71, vice president of the VMI Foundation for major gifts, who arranged the original memorandum in 1997.  “Mr. Rust’s gift will mean approximately $630,000 in additional scholarship aid for our cadets, an increase of 15 percent in available scholarship assistance.  And, coming as it does, in an economic downturn, this money is especially valuable.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Walter C. Perrin II ’62, President of the VMI Foundation, Inc., announced that Mr. Brian S. Crockett, currently the Vice President for Development at the West Point Association of Graduates, has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of the VMI Foundation.  He will begin his duties on June 29.

From Dick: “Here’s an article of mine that just appeared online…with typos!  LOL!”  Go here to read I Am an Entrepreneur.

My copy came yesterday, and I forgot to give you all the link. The latest Institute Report is on line. Just follow the link.

You can get notified electronically of its publication (usually long before it arrives in the mail). Go here to sign up.

April edit:  The March edition is on line, too.  Go here for the March report.

Army General David H. Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, will deliver the commencement address on 16 May.

“I am honored to accept the invitation and look forward to what I know will be a great event,” General Petraeus said in his letter accepting the invitation to speak at commencement. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to thank VMI’s faculty and cadets for their service when I join you for Commencement ceremonies this spring.”

Complete article at VMI Communications website here.

 From vmikeydets.com:

Check out the latest publicity for the VMI basketball program, as the New York Times and Rivals.com have recently published articles while on The Tonight Show, Jay Leno mentions the Keydets in his Headlines segment (go to this link to see the short clip of a bungled headline).

New York Times Article by Adam Himmelsbach: Twin Brothers and a High-Octane Offense Revive V.M.I.

Rivals.com Article by David Fox: VMI Aims to Ride Fast Pace Back to Tourney

From VMI Communications and Marketing:

The Corps of Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute will mark the 100th anniversary of the first time it marched in a Presidential Inaugural Parade by marching in the parade ushering in President-elect Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

See the rest of the  press release here with some links to other coverage.

I missed this when it first came out….

From VMI Communications and Marketing:

Plenty of pictures, sounds, videos, and information will guide prospective cadets to Virginia Military Institute as they explore the uniquely rich educational and life opportunities provided by the college.

Those opportunities come into focus on the Institute’s new Admissions Web site (www.vmi.edu/dontdoordinary). The site is the latest piece in the Institute’s “Don’t Do Ordinary” cadet recruiting campaign, and follows the re-design of the Institute’s Admissions brochures using that theme to highlight the unique qualities of the college.  Read the whole article here.

But be forewarned — we may be over the hill for this one:

Lt. Col. Stewart MacInnis, acting director of VMI’s Office of Communications and Marketing, said the site may not resonate with people who grew up with traditional communications pieces.   “This site capitalizes on the way 14- to 17-year-olds use the Internet, and the way they use technology, such as MP-3 players,” said Maj. Amy Goetz, VMI’s marketing director. “We’ve got a tremendous amount of content packaged in small bits. That will allow prospective cadets to return to the site and still be surprised by what they find.”  For parents (and us gray heads), the same information remains available under the “Admissions” link in a traditional format.

UPDATE: Please check this link on the VMI site for all the restrictions, parking information, and access requirements (including metal detector screening for watching the parade!). It’s a lot of information there.

It’s going to be a bit crowded this weekend around Lexington. Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to review the Corps of Cadets combined with previously scheduled events is expected to make the VMI post a popular destination on Nov. 8.An Admissions Open House has its first session of the day at 8 a.m., the men’s soccer team plays Presbyterian College starting at 11 a.m., and the football game with Liberty University begins at 1:30 p.m. The centerpiece of the vice president’s visit is the 10:30 a.m. parade by the Corps of Cadets.

Security requirements for the vice president are expected to reduce available parking on post.  Parking plans will be finalized and publicized in the middle of the week.  Among options being considered are multiple satellite parking areas with free shuttle service that will run continuously to the post and return to the parking areas. If you are going to Lexington this weekend for the game, check the VMI Web site for updated information.

From VMI Communications and Marketing:

Vice President Dick Cheney will make his third visit to Virginia Military Institute Nov. 8 to attend part of the college’s Military Appreciation Day and to review the Corps of Cadets.

Vice President Cheney will address the Corps during the Saturday morning parade. The parade, which will take place on the VMI Parade Ground, is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public.

Read the rest of the announcement here.

Possibility of two more World records. It’d be great to have some BR’s come out to the salts in September to help out with the beer and the laughs– Fun is guaranteed to all!

Bill

From VMI Communications and Marketing:

Virginia Military Institute kept its place in the top rank of liberal arts colleges in the latest ranking released by U.S. News & World Report.

In the rankings released today (Aug. 22) VMI was ranked as the No. 3 public liberal arts college in the nation, coming in behind the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. This is the same position VMI held last year, when federal service academies were added to that category for the first time. For the previous six years, VMI held the No. 1 position.

VMI also held onto its position of 71 among all liberal arts colleges – both public and private – in the nation, putting it firmly in the 1^st Tier of colleges nationwide. This equals the highest ranking VMI has ever held among all colleges.

(Read on …)

From VMI Communications and Marketing: LEXINGTON, Va., Aug. 15, 2008 – Forbes magazine ranked VMI on its list of America’s Best Colleges this week. VMI ranked No. 9 in the list of public colleges, just behind such institutions as the U.S. Military Academy, the University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, but ahead of many other well-respected schools.

For more information, read the Forbes article as well as the individual VMI listing.

Historic Presentation. The VMI Museum will host a fascinating evening of four nationally recognized historical scholars portraying equally nationally recognized historical characters: Generals R. E. Lee, Douglas MacArthur and Benjamin Davis along with Captain Meriwether Lewis at 7 p.m. on Friday, 25 April in Jackson Memorial Hall. These four American soldiers who have exemplified the model set by Cincinnatus 23 centuries ago will be brought to life temporarily for an evening in a “Chautauqua” style first person impersonation. Portrayals will be made by Dick Cheatham ’70, Al Stone, Bill Young and Jim Armstead. Each providing 15 minutes giving examples of military contribution to civil life from the lives of the characters they portray, followed by a 20 minute period where the audience can ask questions of the famous visitors and a short discussion in panel of the scholarship that makes such a presentation possible. A reception will follow in the VMI Museum.

From the Keydet Club Web Site: VMI head football coach Jim Reid has accepted the linebackers coaching position with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and is resigning his current position at the Institute. VMI athletic director Donny White made the announcement Wednesday. Reid, who coached the Keydets for the past two seasons, will join new Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano’s staff immediately.

Read the rest of the Keydet Club article here.

Here’s Monday’s article from the Miami Dolphins website.

So you won’t be surprised….

The Institute is implementing a new policy requiring people attending home football games to pay a $10 fee to park on the Institute’s Parade Ground. The new policy will be inaugurated with the Sept. 1 contest at Foster Stadium between VMI and Lock Haven University. A full article is here.

However, if you are a Keydet Club Hail Varsity and above member, you will continue to receive complimentary parking in designated Keydet Club areas.

The Roanoke Times published an article on Sunday, 12 August, concerning the 10-year anniversary of the admission of the first class including women to the Institute. Actually not a bad write up.

Read the article here

For those away from the Commonwealth, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has two articles about females in the Corps of Cadets 10 years after admission of the first women.

VMI and its women persevere on ‘journey’ - July 22, 2007

VMI’s rigor a lasting lesson for first women - July 23, 2007

From the VMI Department of Communications:

LEXINGTON, Va., April 18, 2007 – A memorial service honoring victims of the tragic events at Virginia Tech earlier this week is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Thursday (April 19) in Jackson Memorial Hall. The service is for cadets, faculty and staff members and their families. VMI Chaplain Colonel James Park will conduct the service.

Also, the weekly parade by the Corps of Cadets that is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. Friday will include a moment of silence for the students and faculty members at Virginia Tech who died.

U.S. Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today (4 Apr) announced that John McCain, during the month of April, will deliver three major policy speeches and make his presidential candidacy official with a tour through early primary states, ending in his home state of Arizona. John McCain’s first major policy speech on his commitment to winning the war in Iraq will be delivered April 11th at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington. Remainder of the press release is here.

(From “Inside VMI”) Senator John McCain will speak to the VMI Corps of Cadets at 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, 11 April, in Jackson Memorial Hall. He will present a major speech on the war. Due to space limitations in JM Hall, only the Corps of Cadets and a few invited guests will attend the speech. The speech is not open to the public. Press coverage for this event is expected to be considerable. Additional details will be released as received.

A comment on my own post: I wonder which pundit will be the first to draw an analogy on a policy announcement on the Iraq War given in front of the imposing painting of the charge of the Corps of Cadets at the Battle of New Market. The Comment Line is open…..

Updated: You can read about it, as well as view some photos on the VMI web site here

LEXINGTON, Va., March, 2007 - Members of the VMI Pipes and Drums will play in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. See coverage of preparations for the trip from WDBJ-TV. The page has a link to a video story about it all. According to the report, the parade may be nationally televised and the VMI contingent will be one of the first units. It starts at 11:00 AM, so don’t tune in late.

Read about the Pipes and Drums’ last appearance in the parade.

VMI Falls In Big South Final, 84-81 — Despite the loss, this was a great end to a great season. Read all the happenings about both the game and the welcome back to the Post by the Corps on the VMI Web Site and about the game on the VMI Keydets Web Site.

Catch it Saturday at 2:00PM on ESPN…… After the Keydet’s upset of the High Point Panthers on Thursday night, VMI meets Winthrop in the Big South finals on Saturday. A win will send the Keydets to the NCAA tournament where it would:

Assure VMI of its first berth into the NCAA Tournament since the 1976-77 season, when the team won its first round game against Duquesne before falling in the Regional Semifinals to Kentucky, 93-78.

Give VMI their fourth Conference Championship, joining Southern Conference Titles in 1964, 1976 and 1977.

Mark the most wins in a season by a VMI team since the 1995-96 campaign, when the team went 18-10.

Read all about the season, records set and the potential records for this season at the VMI Keydets Web site.

Here are two pictures I took at the Institute Society dinner, which includes Ted Durvin, Tom Zarges, Kent Schlussel and Bob Copty. We do clean up well.

Bill