11 minute read
Bryan ’69 and Paulette ’69 Receive Distinguished Service Award
Bryan ’69 and Paulette ’69 Receive VMI Foundation Distinguished Service Award
By Scott Belliveau ’83, Communications Officer
At the 2021 Founders Day Convocation, two brother rats—Charles F. Bryan Jr. ’69, Ph.D., celebrated public historian and commentator, and William A. Paulette ’69, prominent businessman and engineer—received the VMI Foundation’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. The presentation was made by Thomas H. Zarges ’70, VMI Foundation president. First presented in 1969, the Distinguished Service Award recognizes alumni and friends whose service to the Institute, dedication to the mission of the VMI Alumni Agencies, and career achievements and distinctions are exceptionally commendable. To date, only 75 people have received the award.
Zarges said the VMI Foundation Board of Trustees decided to present the award to Bryan and Paulette, who he described as “two remarkable men,” because their lives “have been characterized by significant professional achievement, selfless service to their professions and their communities, and an unshakeable devotion to the Institute and its advancement.”
One of the country’s most distinguished public historians, Bryan was the president and chief executive officer of the Virginia Historical Society from 1988-2008. His dynamic leadership and bold vision transformed it into an awardwinning organization that increased the scope of its programs, expanded its headquarters, and hosted tens of thousands of visitors annually.
After retiring from the VHS, Bryan helped found Bryan & Jordan Consulting, LLC, which specializes in strategic planning, fundraising, board and staff relations, and executive searches for nonprofit institutions and higher education. He has published extensively on various historical subjects and is a frequent columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Bryan served on the board of the National Museum of American History and was the president of the American Association for State and Local History and the Independent Research Libraries Association. He participates in the Organization of American Historians’ Distinguished Lecture Series. In recognition of his service to public history and his other accomplishments, the Virginia General Assembly named him the Outstanding Virginian of 2009. Bryan has been a faithful alumnus and has long sought ways to improve VMI’s remarkable education. His service included two four-year terms as a trustee of the VMI Foundation and acting as an advisor to the VMI Alumni Agencies during its recent restructuring.
Paulette is the chairman and chief executive officer of KBS, a construction firm he founded in 1975. KBS is one of the most respected construction firms in the mid-Atlantic, completing many high-profile projects for private and public customers. He also has been active as a professional citizen, serving on the board of the Virginia State Board for Contractors, and in his community as
After receiving the Distinguished Service Award, Charles F. Bryan Jr. ’69, Ph.D., and William A. Paulette ’69 review the Founders Day parade with Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins ’85, superintendent.—VMI Photos by H. Lockwood McLaughlin.
a board member of Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia and the chairman of the Henrico County Community Services Board.
Paulette has served the Institute extensively. He was a member of the VMI Keydet Club Board of Governors from 1997-2002 and again from 2010-19. He served as the Keydet Club’s president from 2011-16 and, in that role, was an ex-officio member of the boards of the VMI Alumni Association and the VMI Foundation. Appointed to the VMI Board of Visitors in 2002, he served eight years, and he was the board’s vice president and led its athletic and external affairs committees. In 2017, the VMI Keydet Club recognized his service to VMI athletics with its Spirit of VMI Award.
In his remarks to the audience, Paulette reflected on the fact that “you don’t just go [to VMI] for four years; you go for the rest of your life.” To illustrate that point, he recounted that, although he had eagerly looked forward to graduation, as he drove home that day with his fiancée, Carolyn, he began crying. When she asked him the reason, Paulette answered that it had just hit him that he would never again be in barracks with his brother rats. “VMI is my home,” he said, “and those men are my brothers.”
He also recounted the many VMI alumni who have influenced him as a businessman and a leader in service to VMI, highlighting Elmon T. Gray ’46 and G. Gilmer Minor III ’63 as mentors to him as well as examples of leadership and service. He mentioned, too, that when he was a young engineer, he took a new job. After a few years in the position, he asked the man who hired him why he had done so. The man replied that he had done so because Paulette was a VMI graduate, and he had worked with other VMI graduates who had impressed him. “He took a chance on me because of others who went to VMI.”
Before he ended his remarks with an exhortation to the football team, thanking them for making him and many older alumni happy by winning the Southern Conference championship earlier this year and urging them to further victories this year, he addressed the cadets directly, asking them to follow his example as an alumnus to “give back to VMI, give of your time, talent, and treasure.”
When Bryan addressed the audience, he focused on the meaning of the term, “the
VMI type.” He said many alumni and cadets probably think of the stereotypical alumnus “decked out in red pants, white shirt, and a yellow blazer,” and who “constantly complains that VMI ‘isn’t like what it was like in the Old Corps.’ He’s sometimes referred to as ‘Mister VMI’ because that’s all he seems capable of talking about.”
He then reflected on how the width and breadth of the experiences of alumni seem to argue “there are many VMI types.” He cited numerous examples of this to include George C. Marshall, Class of 1901; Li-Jen Sun, Class of 1927, a successful Chinese general during World War II; Jonathan Daniels ’61; John P. Jumper ’66, who was chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force; his brother rat, John McLaughlin ’69, who, after being an infantry officer, worked for years as a clown with the Ringling BrothersBarnum & Bailey Circus; and Carrie (McAtee) Papke ’07, who, after serving in the Marines, became a successful entrepreneur.
He continued, “The unique VMI educational system is often cited as the underlying reason for that record of achievement. But it is a path toward a college degree that few people choose.” He then explained that the rigors of the VMI education, which he then listed, probably prevent most people from even considering VMI as their college. And, he said, as cadets, many alumni have asked, “Why am I doing this to myself?”
Alumni are glad they persevered in their cadetships; however, he continued, because “when all is said and done, most of us who chose to attend VMI think we are the better for it.”
He closed by posing questions to the Corps.
“Do you consider honor central to your core being? Do you have the determination [to] face adversity head-on? Are you willing to look out for those who need a helping hand regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or social and economic circumstances? Finally, are you willing to serve your country and community? If your answer to those questions is, ‘Yes,’ then you are the VMI type.”
Later, Zarges said of Bryan and Paulette, “Through their professional achievements and selfless service, these two alumni have brought great credit to the Institute. Their devotion to the advancement of the Institute and their contribution of so much time and effort have made VMI a better college and strengthened its ability to graduate men and women ready for consequential lives of service, success, and leadership. I was privileged to present this award to them.”
After receiving the Distinguished Service Award, Paulette (left) speaks of his close ties to the Institute and his brother rats and exhorted the audience to serve VMI. In his exploration of “the VMI type,” Bryan (right) stresses the many admirable traits shared by all alumni.
WHEREAS, CHARLES F. BRYAN JUNIOR, CLASS OF 1969, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and a strong record of accomplishment and leadership as a cadet; and
WHEREAS, he continued the Institute’s proud tradition of the citizensoldier by serving as an armor officer in the United States Army from 1971 to 1973; and
WHEREAS, after his military service, he pursued graduate studies in history, eventually earning a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, after receiving his Ph.D., DR. BRYAN embarked on a career in public history that spanned three decades; and
WHEREAS, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Historical Society from 1988 to 2008, and, in that role, completely revived it, and, moving it to, as stated by the American Association of Museums, “the first rank of historical organizations in the nation;” and
WHEREAS, DR. BRYAN compiled an admirable record as an editor and writer on topics related to museum management and Civil War history as well as a long-time and popular commentator for the Richmond Times-Dispatch; and
WHEREAS, he was an exemplary professional citizen, serving several organizations related to public history and museums, including the National Museum of American History, as a board member and president; and
WHEREAS, he served his community on the board of the Medical College of Virginia Foundation and as a leader in the effort to establish a comprehensive research and treatment center for Parkinson’s Disease at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine; and
WHEREAS, among his many honors and awards is his selection by the Virginia General Assembly as the Outstanding Virginian of 2009; and
WHEREAS, he was a trustee of the VMI Foundation from 2010 to 2018, during which time he made many significant contributions to the organization’s work on behalf of the Institute and the Corps of Cadets and, after which, he served as an advisor to the VMI Alumni Agencies; and
WHEREAS, his professional achievement, selfless leadership, and dedicated service has brought immense credit upon Virginia Military Institute;
THEREFORE, the Board of Trustees of the VMI Foundation is proud to recognize CHARLES F. BRYAN JUNIOR, by presenting him with its Distinguished Service Award.
November 11, 2021
Charles F. Bryan Jr. ’69 (center) receives the award from Thomas H. Zarges ’70 (left), VMI Foundation president, and Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins ’85, superintendent.
WHEREAS, WILLIAM A. PAULETTE, a 1969 graduate of Virginia Military Institute, has been a recognized leader in his profession, his community, and in support of the Institute; and
WHEREAS, after service as an armor officer in the United States Army from 1970 to 1972, Mr. Paulette entered the field of civil engineering; and
WHEREAS, he applied his education in civil engineering and the many life lessons he learned from VMI’s unique military education and as a twosport cadet-athlete to establish the construction firm, KBS, in 1975; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of MR. PAULETTE, KBS has become one of the top-rated construction firms in the Mid-Atlantic area, recognized for both the quality of its work and scope of its projects for many highprofile clients in the public and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, he has made significant contributions to the improvement of his profession and community by serving several organizations including the Virginia State Board for Contractors, the Henrico County Community Services Board, and Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia; and
WHEREAS, he has been a persistent champion of VMI’s NCAA Division One intercollegiate sports program and the coaches, staff, and cadetathletes associated with it; and
WHEREAS, his steadfast support includes serving on the VMI Keydet Club’s governing board from 1997 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2019, and being its president from 2011 to 2016; and
WHEREAS, he was responsible for bringing to fruition many of the initiatives that made VMI athletics stronger; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, the VMI Keydet Club recognized his unfaltering dedication to VMI’s sports program by presenting MR. PAULETTE with its highest honor, The Spirit of VMI Award; and
WHEREAS, as a member of VMI’s Board of Visitors from 2002 until 2010 and the board’s vice president and the chairman of its athletic and external affairs committees, he played a critical role in the effort to improve every aspect of VMI’s extraordinary education; and
WHEREAS, he has provided critical guidance to the VMI Alumni Agencies as they transformed themselves over the past several years to improve the performance of their duties and accelerate the advancement of Virginia Military Institute;
THEREFORE, the Board of Trustees of the VMI Foundation recognizes this long and notable record of dedicated service to Virginia Military Institute and the VMI Alumni Agencies by presenting the Distinguished Service Award to WILLIAM A. PAULETTE.
November 11, 2021
William A. Paulette ’69 (center) receives the award from Thomas H. Zarges ’70, VMI Foundation president, and Maj. Gen. Cedric Wins ’85, superintendent (right).
