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Stories in this issue:
- Alumni Weekend is this coming weekend
- Admissions Office schedules events around the region
- FUMA graduate, Mr. C. Hunter Fairchild, held seminar on “Careers in Business”
- Vote for FUMA in C-ville.com contest!
- A wonderful visit with alumnus John King
- College T-Shirt Day
- Pass in Review
- PHOTO ESSAY: Parade
Alumni Weekend is this coming weekend
May 5-6-7
We are looking forward to a large number of our alumni returning to campus this weekend as we celebrate our annual Alumni Weekend. Many activities are on the jam-packed schedule including a BBQ on campus, an Alumni Association Dinner at the lovely Glenmore Country Club, a captain's choice golf tournament, the Alumni Day parade, and much, much more.
The Class of 1967 will be our honored guests this year as they celebrate their 50th Year Reunion. They will be joined by a number of other reunion classes, and alumni from 2016 back to the 1940s or perhaps even earlier.
Alumni from as long ago as fifty years or more join with graduates and former cadets from recent years, and every year in between, during this special weekend each year. It is a wonderful time for our current cadets, their families, and the multi-generational families of our treasured alumni as well.
Please check out our website for all of the information on plans for this coming special weekend on campus!
And we invite you to enjoy this video invitation to Alumni Weekend, featuring scenes from recent celebrations of this annual event:
Admissions Office schedules events around the region
We encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors to learn more about Fork Union Military Academy and whether our college prep environment might be a good fit for one of their young men. Check out the upcoming schedule of admissions events:
The Fork Union Military Academy Admissions Office is available for visits and admissions interviews this week Monday-Saturday. Please call 434-842-4358 to arrange your day and time. Please note that there will be limited appointments available on Friday and Saturday due to our Alumni Weekend events.
On Saturday May 6 we will return to the Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks (11787 Lee Jackson Highway in Fairfax VA) for an admissions event. Come join us to discuss our upcoming summer school (July 2-29), as well as enrollment opportunities for the fall of 2017.
Our Weekday Open House program will return on Friday May 12, 2017. Prospective cadets and their families may join us at 9 AM to tour, visit a classroom, have their admission interview, and eat lunch. Many coaches and activity directors will also be available to discuss their programs with interested guests. Please contact COL Billingsley (434-842-4205) or Dr. Grant (434-842-4255) to schedule your visit.
May 6—Admissions Fair in Fairfax, VA
May 12—Weekday Open House on campus
May 20—Admissions Fair in Philadelphia, PA
May 21—Admissions Fair in Gaithersburg, MD
FUMA graduate, Mr. C. Hunter Fairchild, held seminar on “Careers in Business”
The Guidance-sponsored “Let’s Talk” series recently offered a seminar on “Careers in Business”. Thirty cadets attended this event. Our guest presenter was Mr. C. Hunter Fairchild, a 2006 graduate of Fork Union Military Academy. Upon graduating from FUMA, Mr. Fairchild attended Lynchburg College, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration and minored in History. He began his business career while a sophomore in college with a start-up laundry company, Campus Cleaners, that he founded. Following his college experience, Mr. Fairchild accepted a position with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, followed by positions with two medical devices companies, TheraSkin – Soluble Systems and Sientra. He is currently a plastic surgery consultant with Sientra, a company based in Richmond. During his years in the business world, Mr. Fairchild has been a top producer in his business ventures, with a distinguished track record in sales, customer service, and client/relationship management.
During his presentation, Mr. Fairchild shared about his experiences at both FUMA and Lynchburg College. He discussed how FUMA prepared him for college and how college prepared him for the world of work. He shared a bit about each of the jobs he has held in the business field. He shared his views on both personal and professional traits that make for a successful career in business. The cadets listened intently to Mr. Fairchild’s words of wisdom and asked many questions pertaining to the information shared. We are grateful to Mr. Fairchild for his willingness to return to FUMA, giving back to the school that he attributes to contributing so much to his success.
Vote for FUMA in C-ville.com contest!
One of our area's favorite media outlets, C-ville magazine, is holding their annual Best of C-Ville contest to celebrate the best businesses and service providers in the Charlottesville, Virginia area. Fork Union Military Academy is in the running as one of the area's best private schools, but we are facing tough competition from the very active and loyal families of The Covenant School in Charlottesville. While Covenant is a very fine school, and one of our favorite people, a former FUMA coach, Seth Wilson, was recently named their head football coach, we obviously cannot allow them to coast to an easy victory without putting up a fight for the title.
Vote today to let C-ville magazine and the Charlottesville community know that there is no better school in the Charlottesville area than Fork Union Military Academy! As they say, vote early and often. And get your friends and family to click the link below and vote as well!
A wonderful visit with alumnus John King
Fork Union Military Academy alumnus John E. "Jack" King stopped by the campus this past week to visit the school he and his brothers attended as grade school students in the early 1940s.
Jack and his two brothers, Robert Norman King and Rodger Allen King, were part of the school's "junior school" as it was called then back when FUMA offered a wider range of grades. At one time, FUMA had cadets from 1st grade through 12th grade and postgraduates. The junior school cadets were housed in a separate barracks building and learned in academic classrooms in what is now called the Middle School Academic Building, next to the Middle School Barracks, located near the Estes Dining Hall. Both buildings were closed in recent years, as our 7th and 8th graders are now housed in the modern comfort of Jacobson Hall.
In the photos below, you can see the young King brothers standing next to the artillery piece that used to be displayed on the Middle School Circle. This "cannon" was regularly painted each year as a senior prank, but was lovingly restored and placed atop our Veterans Memorial in 1997. You can also see the ivy-covered walls of Hatcher Hall, as it appeared in the 1940s.
College T-Shirt Day
Many of our seniors participated in College T-Shirt Day this past Friday, when they were permitted (and encouraged) to wear a t-shirt representing the college they planned to attend in the fall. Some of our older alumni might view this slight loosening of the uniform rules as something that would have brought them demerits for "civilian clothes," but our cadets and faculty have enthusiastically embraced this one day of promoting college pride in our seniors. It truly reinforces Fork Union Military Academy's status as one of the nation's best college prep institutions when you see dozens of cadets walking around sporting shirts from some of the country's best colleges and universities.
Our seniors are rapidly closing in on our annual goal of 100% college acceptance for our graduating class. There are still a few international students who may not hear back from some of their applications to top universities around the world until the beginning of summer, as not all universities around the world follow the same admissions schedule as do American colleges, but we expect that all of our seniors will have the opportunity to attend a college of their choice next fall.
Pass in Review
It was a blistering hot afternoon this past Sunday, as the Corps of Cadets formed up around Fraley Circle to begin the traditional parade season at Fork Union Military Academy. As they have for generations, dating back to the turn of the 20th century, the cadets marched to the parade field to carry on these longstanding practices, culminating with the Pass in Review.
When the command to "Pass in Review" is given during the parades at Fork Union Military Academy, the Corps of Cadets is continuing a tradition that goes back long before the Academy's first days as a military academy in the early 1900s. The "Pass in Review" is a military tradition that some say began as early as 340 BC during the time of Alexander the Great, and offers an opportunity for a commanding officer to review or inspect his troops. It is also an opportunity for the troops to show off their strength, discipline, and military bearing.
During the Pass in Review, all units march past a reviewing stand on which stands a commanding officer or other reviewing officer, and any other honored dignitaries chosen to "take the review." As each unit passes, they are ordered "Eyes Right," at which time the cadets turn their heads 45-degrees toward the reviewing stand (except for the far right column of cadets who continue to face forward along the line of march), and the officers present sabers in salute.
This special "Eyes Right" salute may originate from the middle ages, when the serfs and slaves were not allowed to look at their feudal lords, but were required to avert their eyes and bow their heads or kneel as the lords of the manor passed. In contrast, the soldiers in the service of the feudal lords were given the privilege of looking their leader right in the eye and raising their hats or helmets as a mark of respect.
Passing in Review remains one of the highest honors the Corps of Cadets can offer to one chosen to "take the review" and is the way the Corps of Cadets "salutes" or shows respect and appreciation to those persons.
Credits:
Photos by: COL Al Williamson, Kate Pendergrass, Jamie Krogh, RADM Burhoe, & Charles Thomas