Articles & News

HOMECOMING 2010

Mark your calendars for Homecoming 2010, October 15-16. All alumni are invited and featured classes will be ’40, ’50, ’60, ’70, ’80, ’90, and 2000. Help get the River Rats and Old Boys back on campus by calling your friends and classmates and encouraging them to attend!  Beginning July 15, the Homecoming registration form will be available on the website, plus it will be published in the next issue of Reveille, which goes in the mail August 1.  Let’s make this the biggest Homecoming since the centennial celebration in 2007! 
We will begin posting the names of those registered on September 1.  You can register online, click here, or use the registration form included in the August issue of Reveille on page 20. Remember, everyone who registers by September 25 will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate to the RMA cadet store!

If you were a student of English teacher Gerald R. “Goomba” Wilson or were a cadet under Commandant Engle C. May, your support is needed to help honor these legendary RMA leaders and teachers.

Thanks to Bernie Freeman, ’58; Seth Wagner, ’56; Michael Rafferty, ’56; John “T. Doc” Williams, ’60; Dennis Hite, ’55; and Christine May, almost $12,000 has been raised to name the commandant’s lobby in honor of E.C. May.  Another $8,000 is needed.  Gifts of all sizes are welcome and all donors will be listed on a plaque in the lobby.

A group of alumni from Cancun are leading the charge to name the Center for Teacher Professional Development the Gerald R. Wilson Center for Professional Development.  They have contributed half of the needed $20,000.  All interested alumni are invited to donate and will be listed on a plaque in the development center.

Gifts can be made by calling Amanda K. Griffin, vice president for advancement, or by mailing a gift to 2001 Riverside Dr., Gainesville, GA, 30501.  All gifts are tax deductible; be sure to note on your check which project you are supporting.

FALLEN HEROES MEMORIAL

During Homecoming, fallen RMA alumni will be honored at a memorial service at the Memorial Plaza in front of Elkin Hall on Saturday, October 16 at 10 a.m. Memorial markers for RMA alumni killed in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan will be dedicated, and those killed in action will be recognized and remembered.  The alumni office is still gathering information about RMA alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice in any of these wars. Please email alumni@riversidemilitary.com with information on any fallen brother of whom you are aware. Or, call Errol Bisso, director of alumni relations, at 770-532-6251, ext. 2132.

 

RMA ALUMNI MIXER SCHEDULE 2010-2011

Alumni mixers are being planned for the following cities and countries and we need your help! If you see your city listed and would like to help make a mixer in your area a success, please email alumni@riversidemilitary.com. The alumni office takes care of the logistics, and benefits from an alumnus in the area who can recommend a venue, underwrite the costs, or simply make phone calls and encourage attendance.

            Knoxville, TN                             September 6, 2010 (Labor Day weekend)

            Washington, DC (greater area)     October 2, 2010 (Saturday)

            Dominican Republic                     November 6, 2010

            Cancun, Mexico                         January 15, 2011

            Tampa, FL                                February, 2011

            Miami, FL                                  February, 2011

            New Orleans, LA                        April, 2011

            Houston, TX                             April, 2011

            Boston/New England                   June, 2011

Other cities and regions may be added as alumni express interest. Visit the website often for updated information.

"GOOMBA WINNER"

In the August issue of Reveille we asked, “Do you know the origin of Gerald Wilson’s nickname ‘Goomba’?” The first correct response e-mailed to Errol Bisso, director of alumni relations, was from David Watson, ’65. He wins a $25 gift card to the Riverside cadet store. The correct answer is: Major Wilson, beloved English teacher from 1961-1989, was known affectionately as “Goomba” because of the cheeseburger he ordered at the Riverside grill. This cheeseburger was served with a fried egg and bacon on it and became known as the “Goomba,” as did Major Wilson. Congratulations David!

Alumni from Mexico are leading an effort to name an academic classroom in honor of Goomba. Contact Amanda Griffin or Errol Bisso for details.