RMA’s Long-time Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Smith, has Announced her Retirement Effective May 31

Kelly Smith announces Retirement as RMA CFO; Laura Maxwell named as successor.
Riverside Military Academy’s long-time chief financial officer, Kelly Smith, has announced her retirement effective May 31.
            
Smith joined the RMA business office in 1994 as an accounting supervisor and was named CFO in May 1999. During her 26-year career at RMA she was an integral part of the Academy’s campus reconstruction from 1998-2006 and served under five different presidents. 

“Kelly has provided stability, financial leadership, and prudence over the many years of her tenure at Riverside,” said COL(R) Staś Preczewski, president. “I’ve been grateful for the institutional knowledge she has shared with me. I’m not sure where the Academy would be today without her guidance.”
 
A graduate of the University of Georgia, Smith can be counted on for a Monday morning recap of the Dawgs’ weekend performance during football season. 
 
“It has been a rewarding and, at times, very challenging career, but I’m honored to have been a part of RMA’s history,” said Smith. “I want to thank the RMA Board of Trustees, executive staff and the business office and cadet store staffs for their support over the years.”
 
Smith and her husband, Stanley, are looking forward to more time with their grandchildren, camping, and following UGA football.
 
Laura Maxwell, former vice president of business and finance at Georgia Gwinnett College, has been named Smith’s successor. Maxwell also served on the faculty of GGC and as controller. 
            
“Laura’s orientation to business is in an educational setting, and she has extensive leadership, business planning, and problem-solving skills,” said Preczewski. “I am confident she is the right CFO for this time at RMA.”
            
Maxwell earned a B.S. in business management and an MBA from SUNY (State University of New York) Empire State College. Before coming to GGC, she worked for 20 years at the United States Military Academy, West Point, as assistant dean for resources and later as senior associate athletic director and CFO, army athletics.
            
In her role as CFO to the director of army athletics, she was responsible for managing the overall planning, programming, budgeting, scheduling, financial management execution, personnel management, and contracting for 25 intercollegiate Division IA varsity sports. 
 
“My experience at West Point makes me very comfortable in a military school setting. I appreciate the mission of a college preparatory school that teaches young men leadership skills, so I’m happy to be serving RMA in this capacity at this time,” said Maxwell. 
 
Maxwell and her husband, Mickey, currently live in Dacula. She enjoys a round of golf, bowling, and jogging.
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