Events Institute Society Dinner Resumes, Recognizes Nearly 500 Supporters By Scott Belliveau ’83, Communications Officer More than 450 alumni and friends were the guests of the VMI Foundation at the Institute Society Dinner Nov. 11, 2021. After a year’s hiatus, taking place again in the Hall of Valor in Marshall Hall, the annual event recognizes the hundreds of members of the VMI family whose generosity to the Institute and its cadets places them in the front rank of supporters of the Institute. In Fiscal Year 2021, these men and women contributed tens of millions of dollars in gifts and commitments to every aspect of VMI’s extraordinary education. After a greeting from Meade B. King ’85, VMI Foundation chief operating officer, cadets posted the colors, and the VMI Herald Trumpets played the national anthem. After the evening’s invocation from Col. Robert S. Phillips Sr. ’87, the John M. Camp Chaplain to the Corps of Cadets, dinner was served. After dinner, Thomas H. Zarges ’70, VMI
Foundation president, thanked the guests for their philanthropy, saying, “Your gifts had a significant impact on the lives of current and future cadets, a legacy for generations to come. Your support of our academic program helped to sustain its excellence and provided a foundation for further progress. Your support of co-curriculum bolstered what makes VMI’s education undeniably extraordinary and just as undeniably effective. Your support of our athletic program sharpened our teams’ competitive edge and allowed more young people to reap the many rewards of being a cadet-athlete.” “Your generosity,” continued Zarges, “has given VMI the ability and the confidence to carry out the mission its founders set for it—to provide our great state and great country with well-educated, purposeful, and honorable graduates prepared for consequential lives
of professional success and selfless service— which it has pursued since that snowy day in 1839.” A short video depicting the effect of private support on the Institute and, therefore, on cadets’ lives followed Zarges’ remarks. After the video, the keynote presentation was provided by Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins ’85, the Institute’s 15th superintendent. In his first Institute Society Dinner address, he stressed the importance of maintaining VMI’s progress. “The cost to maintain the first-rate education we provide at VMI requires a long-term commitment from all of us. We continue to invest in building the best facilities; recruiting excellent faculty, staff, and cadets; and providing opportunities for cadets to excel in sports, academics, and the military. We’ve made tremendous progress toward Vision 2039, and I believe we are on the right track, but we must not let up on our efforts.
After a year’s hiatus, all enjoy the return to Marshall Hall for the 2021 Institute Society Dinner.—Photos by Micalyn Miller, VMI Alumni Agencies.
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VMI Alumni Review
