News Highlights

Cadets John Murphy, Ayden Garcia, Bruno Pozzani and Devonte Knight present a check for more than $3,500 to members of Audrain County’s food pantry.

Local Food Pantries — and Band Company — Win in MMA Canned Food Drive Competition MMA cadets raised $3,567.29 in donations for the Academy’s 2019 canned food drive competition. The donations help three local organizations — Grand Prairie Baptist Church of Auxvasse, Faith Walk Food Pantry and the Help Center Inc. Food Pantry in Mexico, Missouri — support local families in need. 78th Annual Evensong The 78th annual Evensong took place on Dec. 8, 2019, at Mexico United Methodist Church. Described as a “Festival of Lessons and Carols,” Evensong features live readings and musical performances by Missouri Military Academy choir members and musicians, plus the MMA Faculty Chorus. ● 2 ● 1

#GivingTuesday at MMA On Dec. 3, 2019 — Giving Tuesday — MMA alumni, friends, parents, faculty and staff raised $8,658 in immediate donations and $12,399 in pledges for a total of $21,058 raised — more than six times the amount raised on Giving Tuesday in 2018! ● 3

This financial support helps the Academy meet unfunded needs that support cadet life initiatives in our strategic plan, including: • Scholarship support for deserving cadets. • Athletic programs and facilities, such as baseball, soccer and equestrian programs. • Upgrades to the rifle range, adding the first-ever MMA Marksmanship Course and providing additional shooting equipment and expendable supplies for training. • Academic curriculums, particularly science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) programs, such as Project Lead the Way and robotics (middle school). • New bus and travel expenses for our band and JROTC teams to travel to regional and national competitions.

A Look back at Fall Family Weekend 2019 Held Oct. 18-20, Fall Family Weekend 2019 celebrated the induction of new cadets into the 131st MMA Corps of Cadets and honored senior cadets for the beginning of their final year. On Friday, families shadowed their cadets through their first-semester classes and discovered what a typical academic day is like at MMA. In the evening, the MMA community gathered at the football field to cheer on the Colonels as they competed against St. Paul Lutheran. On Saturday, families celebrated with the Passing Through Ceremony. An MMA tradition, the Passing Through Ceremony officially welcomes new cadets into the corps, marking their successful completion of the Crucible, Maroon Phase training and handbook test. At the ceremony, family and friends pinned each new cadet’s hat brass on, signifying their official membership into the MMA Corps of Cadets. PHOTO, TOP LEFT: A cadet and his mother walk side by side in Barnard Hall. PHOTO, TOP CENTER: Cadet Alfonso Martinez receives a kiss on both cheeks from his parents after receiving his new hat brass at the Passing Through Ceremony. PHOTO, TOP RIGHT: The MMA Band, led by Drum Major Diego Lopez, marches toward Colonels Field for Review. PHOTO, CENTER LEFT: New Cadet Kyle Rada smiles with pride after MMA President Richard V. Geraci presented him with his new hat brass. ● 4

PHOTO, CENTER RIGHT: The MMA Choir serenades friends and families during the Fall Family Weekend Convocation.

PHOTO, BOTTOM RIGHT: Senior Cadet Bruno Pozzani hugs his mother after receiving his senior ring.

Cadets in New York City, 2019 Educational Tour

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●7 Cadet Benjamin Chukwumah takes on an acting role, led by a Bejing Opera performer.

The MMA Color Guard on the field of Busch Stadium

Cadets then marched to Colonels Field for their battalion review. After the review, seniors received their senior rings at the Senior Ring Presentation. The Senior Ring Presentation shares a common tradition, one that dates back to the early 1800s, with distinguished service academies and military colleges across the United States.

During Fall Family Weekend Parents Convocation, David and Alice Dawson, parents of Cadet Max Dawson, shared their story of choosing military boarding school education for their son.

“MMA impressed us with the campus, their facilities, their focus on education, their endowment and successful and active alumni and their administrators, teachers and staff who we met at our campus visit,” David Dawson said. “Ultimately we chose MMA because many of their values aligned with our values. We thought our son could continue to grow on his path and develop as a responsible, self-advocating, productive young man and citizen.”

Major League Performance ● 5

On Sept. 28, 2019, the MMA Color Guard, plus more than 70 MMA cadets and 15 MMA family members, attended the St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium. At the game, the MMA Color Guard presented the flags for more than 42,000 baseball fans in attendance. On-Site Learning ● 6

Every year, MMA cadets have the opportunity to participate in travel and learn on an educational tour. In March 2019, MMA cadets traveled to Washington, D.C., and New York City to tour some of the nation’s most important historical sites. From the White House to the Statue of Liberty, cadets got a firsthand look at places and subjects they learn about in school.

Cultural Exchange ● 7

Two Beijing Opera performers visited with a group of MMA cadets in September 2019 for a thrilling cultural exchange. The one-hour interactive performance centered on the history and traditions of the Beijing Opera, the most iconic genre of Chinese opera, as professionals demonstrated through traditional singing, dancing and costume. At the performance, the company’s translator explained the different characters in the opera as those roles were acted out by live performers. Cadets were invited on stage to learn from the performers and given instructions to act out roles such as riding a horse and being an old man with a long beard.

Charles R. Stribling III ’44 Memorial Statue

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Donated by Sanders Roth ’04, this boom lift will aid in Academy maintenance and repairs.

Col. Stribling Statue Dedication ● 8

During Homecoming 2019 on Sept. 14, Missouri Military Academy honored former Academy President Col. Charles R. Stribling ’44, who spent more than 75 years in dedicated service to MMA and its mission, at the Col. Stribling Statue Dedication Ceremony.

During the ceremony, MMA President Brig. Gen. Richard V. Geraci, USA (Ret) addressed the crowd and expressed gratitude for Javier Campuzano ’82, who created this statue as a gift to the Academy with the help of Phil Baum ’63.

To maintain Stribling’s legacy, front and center, for all of our current and future cadets, the statue stands where every cadet walks daily, passing from the barracks to Barnard Hall.

Color Guard at Truman Presidential Library and Museum Groundbreaking ● 9

The MMA Color Guard was honored to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for a major renovation at the Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, on Sept. 5, 2019 — the 75th anniversary of Truman’s presidency. The ceremony celebrated the $25 million capital campaign effort that would provide a new Truman permanent exhibition, enhance education programs, expand public programs and modernize exhibits that could inspire, educate and engage a 21st-century audience. MMA Color Guard opened the ceremony with a parade performance, proudly displaying the flags during the national anthem and throughout the ceremony. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson specifically congratulated the MMA Color Guard for their discipline and bearing during his speech.

The MMA Color Guard presents the colors at the Truman Library.

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Miguel Angel Hernandez Vanegas ’84 leads the MMA Fusileers in the Alain M. Garcia Almada ’06 Field House.

Alumni Support Academy with Time, Talent and Treasure ● 10

In August, MMA alumni Kurt Bilsel ’81, Jesus Sorinao ’82, Rob Farnam ’84 and Jorge Soriano ’89 — all national title holders as MMA Fusileers — helped teach the 2019-20 Fusileer Drill Team exhibition drill moves. These alumni spent time with cadet leaders to discuss what they learned from their time at MMA in terms of ethical decision-making, honor and integrity.

“We wanted them to know that being a good leader means bringing others to a higher standard,” Farnam says.

In October, Sanders Roth ’04 generously donated $10,000 towards a $16,000 boom lift for maintenance and repair of areas of the Academy the maintenance team is unable to reach with a ladder, such as cleaning the high entryways to buildings, repairing Memorial Chapel steeple, repairing lights, trimming trees and much more.

Grants Support MMA ● 11

In August, Missouri Military Academy received a $25,000 grant from an anonymous foundation to renew annual funding for a scholarship named in honor of D’Cherion Nelson, a 2015 MMA graduate and corps battalion commander. This scholarship supports deserving cadets who need financial support to attend MMA and benefit from the Academy’s 360° Education, focused on developing mind, body and spirit and helping young men take command of their futures.

Also in August, the Allen P. and Josephine B. Green Foundation awarded a $19,000 grant to Missouri Military Academy to restore the steeple atop the Memorial Chapel and Albright Assembly Hall. The chapel has been an icon on MMA’s historic campus in Mexico, Missouri, since 1961. In November 2019, President Geraci honored Richard White ’47 with an MMA presidential coin for his support for the Academy.

White’s contributions are extensive; he has contributed to improvements in Barnard Hall Library and the Bravo Barracks, as well as the Olympic-sized swimming pool now used by MMA’s swim team. He has also donated decorative eagle figurines, currently on display in the Barnard Hall Conference Room. During his November 2019 visit to MMA, White toured the Barnard Hall academic building and Stribling Hall, visited a middle-school biology class, listened to Christmas songs rehearsed by a middle school band class, inspected the middleschool robotics classroom and shared MMA stories over lunch with cadets.

MMA is thankful for his support and honored to share the campus improvements to which he contributed.