Alumni and Friends of VMI:
Cyber Corps Numbers: 510
Letter to the Editor: The following letter
recently appeared in the Richmond Times- Dispatch. It is worth
reprinting here.
VMI Continues to Provide Service to the Nation
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
As I sped west back to the Lone Star State, the glow of my 25th
Reunion
-- Virginia Military Institute Class of 1973 -- still warmed my
heart.
It had been a pleasure to see again classmates -- Brother Rats --
a
quarter-century removed from Jackson Arch.
Of the more than 325 rats who entered VMI in that uncertain war
year,
only 176 had graduated. Ten Brother Rats departed this life too
soon.
Some were unable to leave duty positions in Kuwait or Bosnia.
Over 90
were in attendance.
All had arrived at approximately the same station in life:
positions of
achievement, responsibility, and service. They are living proof
that VMI
had accomplished its timeless mission of creating
citizen-soldiers
willing to drop their plows and pick up their sabers in time of
national
peril. Some argue that the country is now strangled by such a
national
peril.
While the presidency is arguably diminished by shortage of
character --
perhaps a national epidemic -- there is one corner of the
Commonwealth
that values its creation, development, and preservation. VMI, the
nation's first state military college, stands solitary guard. The
Class
of 1973 did its part to ensure that this unique institution, with
its
well-deserved national reputation, is ever vigilant.
Virginia is to be applauded -- in truth, envied -- for having
maintained
and nurtured this great institution. Its graduates are challenged
to
ensure that it endures. There has never been a time in the
history of
our nation when Virginia's investment in VMI has been more sorely
needed
and appreciated.
Jeffrey L. Minch.
austin, tx.
Death in the VMI Family: I received the
following e-mail from my BR Doug Baird and thoughts I'd pass it
along.
RB,
I meant to send you a note last week, but simply forgot. Don't
know
if you want to post this on your Cyber Corps Update. Your call.
Zachary T. Gray, DDS '50B died on October 4, 1998 of leukemia in
Charleston, SC. He was my (and my wife's) dentist for a number of
years. He retired from his practice in Alexandria, Virginia about
three
years ago. He was a great guy and a real gentleman and we will
miss
him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family.
A Career Change: Skip Goodwillie '83 asked me to
pass along the following.
RB, if you could post my information on the site, I'd appreciate
it. I
cashed in my partnership shares with a local computer consulting
firm last
week and am looking for my next career move. I graduated in '83
with a
double major in English and Modern Languages and in '87 with a JD
from UR.
I was in the tax department of a Big 6 CPA, Coopers and Lybrand
for 2 years
and the rest has been in technical recruiting, management and
sales. I live
in Richmond, VA but would consider relocation.
And From the Institute Report: The Institute
Report contained a couple items of interest that I thought I'd
pass along....
Item 1: Seems that an episode of
A&E network's Biography series will be devoted to Lt. Gen.
Lewis "Chesty" Puller. Gen. Puller matriculated with
the VMI class of 1921. After one year he enlisted in the Marine
Corps, rose through the ranks to become a Lt. Gen. and became one
of our nation's most decorated military men. The one-hour special
will appear on A&E's Biography series on Nov 10th.
Item 2: This year's Founders Day
acitivities will include a convocation in Cameron Hall at 9 a.m.
and a reivew parade by the Corps of Cadets at 11 a.m. on Nov 11.
Speaking at the convocation with be Vice Admiral James Bond
Stockdale USN, (Ret.).
Item 3: An exhibit, entitled
"George C. Marshall, Soldier of Peace," is on display
in the George C. Marshall Museum now through May. The exhibit is
on loan from the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian
Institute.
More On the Issue of "Rooming Arrangements":
Seems that may be some flexibility afforded female cadets when it
comes to rooming by company. A couple folks e-mailed to say that
females were given some leeway in forming rooms. They still room
mostly by company, but there is some intermingling due to that
fact that some companies had a limited number of women.
Obtaining An Autographed Copy of Gen Bunting's Book:
For those who have already purchased Gen Bunting's book, send it
to Lori Parrent, Superintendent's Office VMI, Lexington, VA
24450. BE SURE to include the return address you want the book
sent to. If you haven't purchased the book, call the Keydet
Bookstore at 540-464-7637, order a book with your credit card,
and give them the address you want it mailed to. They'll send it
to the Gen Bunting's office and Lori will forward it to the
address specified. I understand that the Superintendent's office
evens pays the postage!
Somebody remind me to ask Gen Bunting if I get a finder's fee for
plugging his book.
VMI Football: Morehead State 41 - VMI 38
VMI Roundball on the Horizon: Basketball
practice has started. Let the games begin!!
Thursday, October 22, 1998
Coach demands quick pace
VMI plans to make a run at the conference leaders
Depth at point guard should allow the Keydets to run even more
this
basketball season. And that's saying a lot.
By MARK BERMAN
THE ROANOKE TIMES
LEXINGTON -- The point guard may be different
at VMI, but the point
is still the same.
Basketball coach Bart Bellairs loves an
up-tempo style. The 14-13
Keydets averaged 75.4 points last season, tops in the Southern
Conference.
But to Bellairs, the Keydets looked like
turtles. His 1995-96 team,
after all, averaged a school-record 84.2 points.
Bellairs, whose Keydets began preseason
practice Sunday, hopes
quicker big men and greater depth at point guard will enable VMI
to rev
up its engines even more.
"We've got T-shirts that say, "The
fastest 40 minutes in college
basketball.' That's where we're trying to go with our tempo
..."
Bellairs said Wednesday. "We want to score more points. We
want to have
more scoring opportunities. We think we can create even more
tempo than
we have in the past."
The Keydets will miss All-Southern Conference
point guard Darryl
Faulkner, who averaged 15.4 points as a senior last year. But the
overworked Faulkner was their only true point guard -- averaging
a
team-high 32.7 minutes -- so the Keydets weren't as up-tempo as
Bellairs
wanted to be.
"Even though we were a pretty quick-paced
team, we only had one
point guard and he paced himself, whether he realized it or not,
which
sometimes slowed down our attack," said Bellairs, whose team
plays host
to Elon in its Nov. 14 opener. "You don't want to try to be
a real
up-tempo team when you only have one true point guard. With one
point
guard in practice, you couldn't go full speed there, either,
because you
didn't want to wear the kid out. Faulkner, bless his heart, I
thought he
was going to sue me. The only thing I didn't ask him to do was
carry the
luggage."
This season, Bellairs will rely on two point
guards so his floor
general will be fresh always. Andre Quarles, a junior, is back
after
sitting out last season because of a lack of credit hours. The
other
contender for the starting job is freshman Renard Phillips, who
was a
reserve at national power DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md.
Richard Bruce, Faulkner's backup last year,
will go back to his
natural position, off-guard.
It won't be easy for the Keydets to adapt to
the loss of Faulkner.
"Obviously, we're going to hurt when
you're missing the best point
guard in the Southern Conference," said off-guard Jason
Bell, an
all-league second-team pick who averaged a team-high 16.3 points
last
winter. "That's going to change things up a lot."
Quarles is excited by the challenge. He hasn't
seen any game action
since January 1997. He was suspended from VMI for the 1997 spring
semester for having too many demerits, and could only practice
with the
team last season because of the credit-hours problem.
"It's been so long since I've been out
there. I can't wait," he
said. "The only problem I would have is getting in front of
a crowd and
actually playing, being comfortable."
Said Bellairs: "Is there a game rustiness
there? We don't think so
because he was playing against one of the best guards in the
conference
last year in Faulkner."
Forward Brent Conley, the 1995-96 conference
freshman of the year,
also sat out last season because of the same credit-hours problem
that
sidelined Quarles. He decided last summer to transfer to Lindsey
Wilson,
an NAIA school in Kentucky.
In addition to Faulkner, VMI must replace
starting center Mike
Spinelli (4.5 ppg). Eric Mann could move over from power forward
to
replace him, but 6-foot-9 freshmen Zach Batte of Idaho Falls,
Idaho, and
Tim Cole of Jumping Branch, W.Va., are in the picture. Both
rookies are
quicker than Spinelli, which should also help the tempo.
"It's one thing if you've got three guys
down the floor in a hurry.
It's another if you've got all five guys down the floor in a
hurry,"
said Bellairs, whose Keydets were 8-7 in the league last year.
"We think
we're getting closer to that."
That's it for this week!
Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75
Last Updated: October 11, 2009
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