Published by the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni …Published by the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Association ... [email protected] Lexington, MO Area Al McCormick, ‘67:

Published by the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Association

Volume 1 Number 3 November 2010

The Red Dragon | November 2010 | 2

Volume 1, Number 3November 2010

PublisherAn Official Publication of theWentworth Military Academy

Alumni [email protected](660) 259-2221 x1237

EditorJames M. Wright, ‘[email protected]

913-642-2219

Director of AlumniAl McCormick, ‘67

[email protected](660) 259-2221 x1237

PresidentWMA Alumni Association

John Francis, ‘[email protected]

(414) 815-4447

Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Association

1880 Washington AvenueLexington, MO 64067(660) 259-2221 [email protected]

© Copyright 2010Wentworth Military Academy

Alumni Association1880 Washington Avenue

Lexington, MO 64067(660) 259-2221 x1237

[email protected]

Contents131st Year Begins At WMA ......................................... 10 Alumni Association Elected Officers .............................3 Alumni Auction A Success .......................................... 15 Alumni Pause For A Photo............................................9 Alumni Trap Shoot ...................................................... 20 A Piece Of History Donated ..........................................9 Attention Class Members of ‘64, ‘65, ‘66 ......................7 Band Reunion - 2011 .................................................. 22 Chicagoland Rally....................................................... 12 Colonoscopy - Fun ..................................................... 14 Contents .......................................................................2 Dates To Remember .....................................................2 Director’s Corner ..........................................................5 Duck - Final Word .........................................................7 Editor’s Notes ...............................................................6 Former Cadets Wed .....................................................8 Golf Outing ................................................................. 19 Homecoming 2010 In Review............................... 17, 18 Homecoming - The Game .......................................... 16 Honolulu Rally - Coming Soon ................................... 11 Jim Skelton Promotion..................................................8 Joe Aull Picture .............................................................8 Membership Application ............................................. 23 President’s View ...........................................................4 Rappelling Old (And New) Boys ................................. 13 Regional Alumni Chapters And Contacts......................3 Truck Raffle To Benefit WMA ........................................8 Tulsa Rally A Big Hit ................................................... 19 Work Weekend A Great Success ............................... 21

Dates To RememberOctober 29-30, 2010 - Red Dragon Rally - Omaha, NE.November 12, 2010 - Red Dragon Rally - Honolulu, HIJune 20, 2011 - Red Dragon Rally - Manitowoc, WI.August 5-7, 2011- Work WeekendOctober 7-9, 2011 - Homecoming - Lexington, MO.Front cover photo by Jim Wright


Regional Alumni ChaptersAnd Contacts

Arizona George Hittner, ‘97: (480) 596-4704 or (480) 290-1798 [email protected] Anteco Cross: (913) 205-9113 [email protected]/FT Worth Jim Sellers: (901) 828-6325 [email protected], MO Area Al McCormick, ‘67: (816) 255-0641 [email protected] Nebraska/Western Iowa John Stahlnecker: (402) 738-8908 [email protected] Pat Jarrett: (402) 210-6662 [email protected] Francisco/Bay Area Steve Smith, ‘83: (831) 588-7838 [email protected] Wisconsin Bob Kerscher: (920) 973-0759 [email protected] Florida Francisco Jose Palacio, Jr.: (954) 270-0276 or (561) 691-9983 [email protected] or [email protected] Raul Zambrano, ‘82: 58412-6395808 or 58212-2562953 [email protected] you are interested in participating in a Regional Alumni Chapter, please contact one of the Region-al Commanders above.

If you wish to start a Regional Alumni Chapter in your area, then contact either Al McCormick or the President of the WMA Alumni Association.

WMA Alumni AssociationElected Officers

President John Francis,’83: (414) 815-4447 [email protected]

Vice President Guy Harkness,’63: (816) 863-4340 [email protected]

Treasurer Slick Heathman,’56: (660) 259-3927 [email protected]

Secretary Vacant

President-Elect Jim Wright,’66: (913) 642-2219 [email protected]


President’s ViewBy John Francis, ‘83

John Francis

As I travel the country meeting with old boys, I am amazed at the level of dedication they have for fam-ily, country, and Wentworth. The order may differ from alumnus to alumnus, but dedicated nonetheless. This was evident the first weekend in October on the Wen-tworth campus. Yes, the 2010 WMA homecoming is in the history books and has been recorded as one of the best in recent years. Over 130 old boys and their families united over the three day reunion to share cadet stories, updates on family/professional life, and most importantly, support the school. For some it was their first time back on campus in over 25 years and for others it is an annual event. The weekend was filled with activities including a golf tournament, WMA versus Kemper trap shoot, Saturday parade through Lexington, BBQ tailgater, opportunity to descend the rappelling tower, and, of course, the football game. Speaking of the football game, WE WON! The football team was firing on all cylinders and blanked the opposition 41-0. Dates for homecom-ing next year are October 7-9, 2011. The theme is Band…return to Headquarters! So all you head-quarters old boys, dust off your trumpet, tighten up your drums, and get back to Lexington. All returning band members will be marching and playing in the Saturday parade. More info will be forthcoming, but please mark your calendars and plan on returning to campus.

Wentworth is fortunate to have an alumni network that continues to work in support of the school, regard-less of the occasional challenge that may come our way. Some educational institutions face an ebb and flow with Alumni due to the economy, politics, school leadership, and other life events. Many schools find themselves having more vocal critics than supporters when times get tough. That has never been the case with Wentworth graduates, students, or faculty. The tireless dedication of your alumni corps is a direct re-flection of the values instilled every day at Wentworth Military Academy. This will be the last Red Dragon newsletter for 2010 and with that I leave you with a quote from one of our nation’s most admired presidents:

It’s not the critic who counts…the credit be-longs to the man who is actually in the arena…whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause…far better it is to dare mighty things than rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory or de-feat. Theodore Roosevelt.

I will chat again with you in 2011. Have a great holi-day season.


Director’s CornerBy Al McCormick, ‘67

Al McCormick

Collectively we make a difference

That’s right, collec-tively. As a group we can make a difference in any organization we belong to and have a positive impact on the amount of good it can create. That applies to

support as we grow and yes, we want to grow. If you are a current dues paying member, here is how you can help: Ask someone (a classmate or a buddy) to join. If your dues are up for renewal, send them in. I invite each of your reading this to join our association and be a part of our growth and building our collective strength. At the end of this newsletter you will find a mem-bership application, please complete it and send it to me right away and then, come home and participate, our collective abilities are productive and fun as we develop and expand our fellow-ship circle. Thank you for a great Homecoming and please mark your calendars for Homecoming 2011, the 50th anniversary year of the class of 1961. October 7, 8 and 9, 2011. Our football oppo-nent is Windsor. See you then if not before.our own Wentworth Military Academy Alumni As-

sociation as well. Membership is open to any former cadet who wishes to support our objectives through finan-cial assistance by year to year membership or by life long membership. If you are reading the Director’s articles you probably noticed we are stressing our annual objectives and support pro-grams in print during each issue. It’s our goal to keep them in front of you as they are worthwhile and each of us who are dues paying members believe in the impact strongly. As a review let’s take yet another look at what we support on behalf of the academy: Cadet Scholarships. Currently you are award-ing two. Among all the things we concentrate on as priorities this area needs the most attention. We count on you who wish to support us with membership dues to fund this along with pro-ceeds from the annual silent and live auctions. The long range plan is to provide more for cadets which is a wonderful benefit to not only them but to the academy.Annual Alumni (graduates) Pizza Party. We were able to reduce your cash outlay this year by enrolling Valentino’s pizza of Lincoln, Nebraska as a corporate sponsor. They have re-enrolled for 2011. Cash outlay remains at approximately $1,000.00 for this event.Memorial preservation, work weekend, the annual Commander Ed Ellis golf tournament serve as our remaining priorities. Each of these priorities are deserving of your


Editor’s NotesBy Jim Wright, ‘66

Jim Wright

Homecoming 2010 is history and was a big suc-cess. In this issue of The Red Dragon, we have included many articles and pictures of the home-coming fun. I hope you enjoy the review. We tried to at least include pictures of each event, even if we could not include an article on each. And, of course, we have to send along a big congratu-lations to our football team who won the home-coming game 41-0 over Kansas City East High School. Wow! What a great game. We are coming to the end of the 2010 calen-dar year. It has been a good year for Wentworth Military Academy and for our Alumni Association. School enrollment is up and WMA is more stable financially. Our association membership contin-ues to grow (more than doubled this year) and a number of old boys have become new lifetime members. And of course, we have started pub-lishing The Red Dragon to keep everyone up-to-date on the comings and goings at the school and of our alumni. 2011 looks like a great year in the making. Hopefully — the economy will start to show real signs of a return to normalcy (for us regular peo-ple). Hopefully — Wentworth will continue on its positive growth trend. Hopefully — our Alumni Association will continue on its positive growth trend and be able to do much more to support the school and alumni. Hopefully — each and every one of you will be able to say that something very positive happen to you and your family in 2011. Plan on attending a WMA Rally in 2011. We will keep the listing on page 2 up-to-date with the lat-est information. If there is not a rally scheduled in your area, contact Al McCormick or John Francis for help in setting one up. It is not hard, is a lot of fun, and is very rewarding. Plan on attending a work weekend at the school. The date(s) will be announced soon. These are also great fun (and work). It really is fun when you can get together, socialize, and accomplish something positive for the school. Plan on attending Homecoming on October 7, 8, and 9, 2011. In addition to the regular class

get-togethers and events, the 2011 Homecom-ing will be marked by a “Headquarters Company” reunion. That’s right. A reunion of the band. So get your instruments dusted off and get ready to play and march during Homecoming. I was not a member of the band but am still looking forward to this. As old boys and friends of Wentworth, we have always been proud of our band. This will be a once in a lifetime event for all of us, band mem-bers, old boys, friends, and the school. Don’t miss this one. Plan on getting involved with the WMA Alumni Association. We can always use the positive in-fluence of people who volunteer to help. We will need some new officers next year. Actually we need a new Secretary right now. Anyone inter-ested in the job? We need volunteers to write ar-ticles for The Red Dragon. We need pictures, old and new, for The Red Dragon. We need work-ers for the work weekends. We just want to hear from you and get to know you. That is what it is all about. A final note, this issue of the Red Dragon is very long. That is because there was so much news to report. I will try to keep the issues shorter in the future. On behalf of all of the officers and members of the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Associa-tion, I want to wish all of you the very best of what life has to offer in the coming year. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season. Until next time, I hope you enjoy this issue of The Red Dragon. I will be looking for you on the Quadrangle.

The Red Dragons Win Homecoming Football Game

Photo by Jim Wright


Attention Class Members

of ‘64, ‘65, ‘66 C.R. King, ‘66 is seeking members of the classes from ‘64, ‘65, and ‘66, who are in-terested in attending Home-coming and holding a reunion during the 2011 Homecoming that will be held on October 7-9, 2011. If you are interested please contact C.R. at: [email protected]. We hope to have a great turnout.

Sometime on a Sunday or a Monday during the week of June 6th, a wild Duck discovered an opening of opportunity at the Wentworth Alumni House and took advantage of the situation. The female duck may have been seeking shelter and security to lay and hatch eggs and start a family. Al McCormick, a member of Senior Staff was quoted as saying; “There can be no other logical reason for this unlawful invasion, and we will get to the bottom of this”. Rishae Proffitt of the National Management Group led the delegation to capture and rescue the invading duck from the alumni house and pre-pare it for relocation. Immediately upon hearing the news, John Francis, President of the Went-worth Alumni Association issued a proclamation and requested a unanimous vote by all alumni members to bestow honorary alumni status on the duck and declaring it a member of the class of 2010. Mr. Francis was quoted as saying; “We must be kind to our web footed friends”. Rishae Proffitt and Heather Ratliff relocated and released the duck at Lions Lake, a more natural home for a fine feathered friend. The duck inva-sion ended quietly and peacefully on June 9th. This is the last chapter in this duck saga.

Duck Invades Alumni HouseCaptured and Released

Honors Pending

Your article could be in the next Red Dragon! All you have to do is write an article that you think Wentworth Alumni would enjoy reading and send it, along with some pictures, I hope, to the Editor. We welcome articles by Wentworth Alumni.


Jim Skelton Promotion to Colonel (USA)

The Honorable Joe Aull (right), Missouri Representative, pauses to pose for a picture

with Academy officials, Bob Levy, William Sellers, Mike Lierman, and Tom Dinsdale,

Chairman of the Board.

Former Cadets Drew Overby and Brie Pinker-ton were united in marriage on July 31st and had a beautiful wedding. They are now back at home and reside at 221 N 184th plaza Apt. 206 Elk-horn, Ne 68022.

Former Cadets Wed


WMA Alumni Pause For A Photo During Homecoming On October 2, 2010.What A Handsome (And Pretty In Some Cases) Group!

Thanks to Patrick Walsh ‘80 who saved and pre-served the rules from the stables at the country club! Patrick returned this year for Homecom-ing and presented an artifact to the Academy; the WMA Stables Rules for Horse Back Riding (Please see accompanying picture). The document was turned over to Bill Sellers, President who will be sending this valuable docu-ment to a qualified firm who has the capacity to restore and preserve it. Thank you Patrick! Very good of you to turn in this most valuable memory.

A Piece Of History Donatedby Al McCormick, ‘67


The one hundred and thirty first year of Wentworth Military Academy begin on Monday, August 23, 2010 in the Memorial Chapel to celebrate the beginning of yet another academic year and to officially welcome cadets to the historic campus of Wentworth and the city of Lexington. COL Tim Casey, Academic Provost opened the ceremony with the invocation followed by honoring America with “The Star Spangled Banner” presented by the Wentworth Band under the leadership of Capt. Gary Love, Bandmaster. Encouraging and positive messages were offered by COL Mike Lierman, ’73, Superintendent, a representative of the Lexington Mayors office, and COL William Sellers, President of WMA. The Honorable Ike Skelton ’51, United States Representative, Missouri 4th District, provided the keynote address, sharing some personal stories about how he came to realize Wentworth was a grand opportunity while he was a student.

131st Year Begins At WMAby Al McCormick, ‘67

He also shared encouragement with everyone in the 131st Corps to apply themselves and take advantage of the many opportunities Wentworth has to offer. The 131st Battalion Commander, Cadet Michael Waldron, Lake Wales, Florida was introduced by COL Lierman. Cadet LTC Waldron set the expectations for the cadet corps and challenged the members to be the best they could be throughout the entire academic year. The Cadet oath was led by Interim Commandant and Director of Operations, COL Rick Cottrell. Following the cadet oath and the sounding of the cannon, the cadets were dismissed to resume classes signaling the official beginning of the academic year. A reception following the ceremonies was held in Groendyke Hall by the staff to welcome and thank the many old boys and city leaders who attended the event.

131st Corp Of Cadets Takes Cadet Oath In Memorial Chapel


Date is Friday, November 12 Time is 1700 (5 PM for Charlie Company Old Boys, dinner time for Alpha Company, Mickey’s little hand is on the five for HQ Company Old Boys).

Place is Sam Snead’s Tavern

Address is 943 Valkenburgh StreetHonolulu, HI 96818-3910

(808) 421-7267

RSVP to

Dress is aloha casual.

Hope You Can Make It

Honolulu Rally - Coming Soon

Wentworth and Kemper alumni have entered into a new cooperative partner-ship to help keep memo-ries of our old sister school alive. As a first step, a large group Kemper alumni un-veiled and dedicated a new display during the recent WMA Homecoming week-end. Wentworth is proud to pro-vide the display space in Groendyke Hall. We have been informed that the Kemper Alumni Association is planning on providing a scholarship to some Went-worth students in the near future.

Photo by Al McCormick

“The Best thing that you can do for Wentworth is to refer a

potential cadet”John Groendyke, October 2005

New Wentworth-Kemper Alumni Partnership


On September 18th of this year a group of Chi-cagoland old boys met at Ditka’s restaurant for a pre Homecoming rally. The gathering was a pre-cursor for the Wentworth Homecoming weekend two weeks later in Lexington. As with most Red Dragon rallies, old stories were told and classic question of “do you remember so and so” was asked and most of the time answered. The date for next year’s rally has yet to be determined, but will most likely be moved from the city to the suburbs in an effort to attract greater numbers.

Chicagoland Rallyby John Francis, ‘83

L to R: Patti Francis, John Francis, JB Meyer, Rick Scheer, Joe Frueh, Anteco Cross

Joe Frueh ’83, John Francis ’83, Rick Scheer ’84, JB Meyer ’86 and Anteco Cross ’93 were a few of the alumni attending.

Photos by John Francis


With the new rappelling tower up and operational, it only seemed fitting to offer returning old boys the opportunity to take a shot at the “long drop”. Just prior to the bonfire activities on Friday night, a number of alumni and many onlookers assembled at the tower and suited up for the four story decent. After de-tailed instructions, including a dry run off the side of a hill, a group of daring souls climbed the forty foot stairwell to the top of the tower. One by one folks disappeared over the edge and made their way down the structure. With the first attempt completed, rope goers become more and more confident with each additional belay. By the end of the evening each alumni had survived the event and the tower got quite a work out. Master Jumper Ed Fiora of Wentworth oversaw every aspect of the event and ensured the safety of all who participated. When asked “who was the best rappeller today”, he responded, “Richard Scheer”. That’s right, Rick Scheer’s (’84) twelve year old son Richard got the nod as top tough guy of the evening. The fact that he took 10 trips down the tower may have helped his odds.

Rappelling Old (And New) Boysby John Francis, ‘83

Photos by Jim Wright


I ALMOST WAITED TOO LONG. It was an early December day in 2005, & my cousin, John Hark-ness, & I were in northern Indiana on a business trip. In between sales calls, I needed to phone the Doctor’s office back in Kansas City to receive the results of my colonoscopy examination that I had undergone the previous week. I spoke to a nurse when I called, & when she put me on hold, rather than simply saying all was fine, I had sus-picions of some possible complications. When the nurse came back on the line and said, “Mr. Harkness, the Doctor would like to speak to you”, I knew I was likely in for some soon to be life changing events. The Doctor then confirmed that I had Stage 3 colon cancer, but fortunately the tumor had not yet perforated the intestinal wall. I was 59 years old when all of this occurred, and yes, I should have had a colonoscopy AT LEAST 10 years earlier to establish a baseline, even though I had never really experienced any of the tell tale signs or symptoms. This is obvi-ously where I almost waited until it was too late. In my case, the primary circumstance for con-tracting the disease was most likely heredity. My Father succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 1982 at the age of 69, and at the same age of 69 my Mother died of breast cancer in 1984. As I would come to learn and realize, these facts pretty much sealed my fate. Fast forwarding, and on Valentine’s Day in 2006, I had 18 inches of my colon removed, & a colon re-section successfully accomplished. Again, for-tunately, I also didn’t have to have a colostomy bag, & after a three day hospital stay I was back home. During the surgery, they also removed several lymph nodes from my lower abdominal cavity, and some cancer cells were found in one of the nodes. This, then, started me on my next journey forward. My Oncologist advised me that the odds of survival were obviously significantly greater if I would undergo chemotherapy treatments. So, again, fast forwarding ahead, in early April of 2006, I began six months of treatments. My par-ticular regimen amounted to three days worth of

treatments every other week. I would report to the clinic first thing on a Monday morning, and receive a roughly 4 hour “cocktail drip” through a “port” that had been surgically implanted in my chest. After this “drip” was completed, I was then given a “fanny pack” containing another “lovely cocktail” that was metered into me over the next 2 days. On a Wednesday afternoon I would re-turn the “fanny pack” to the clinic, get my “port” flushed out, & then look forward to a week off. Just when I would get to feeling a bit better, the following Monday would be upon me, and the regimen would be repeated all over again. As I said, the treatments lasted six months - until the first part of September, 2006. Since I had/have my own business, along with John Harkness, I did keep working throughout this six month period of time. I obviously had some very interesting and humorous times dur-ing this period. Suffice it to say, I did leave lots of my “marks” in lots of grassy areas throughout the U.S.A. - before, during, & after many/most of our sales calls!!!!!. I apologize for some of the rather lengthy details in this article, but PLEASE honestly know that my sole reason for “going public”, so to speak, is to obviously heighten awareness and strongly urge each and every one of you who are over 50 to undergo a colonoscopy examination IM-MEDIATELY, and certainly if you haven’t had the procedure recently!!!. Had I not done so back in late 2005 I would likely not be writing this “article” today. In closing, I saw my Oncologist in early August and she reported that I’m still doing very well. I will visit her again in February of 2011, which will roughly be my 5 year anniversary, and then also have another colonoscopy. If I’m “clean” once again, I can then graduate to annual visits, or even less frequently, if feasible. Please remember, I almost waited until it was too late. Please don’t make the same mistake I did. For the very minor discomfort of flushing out your system prior to a colonoscopy, get your test scheduled much sooner rather than much later, as time is of the essence for sure!!!.

Colonoscopy - Funby Guy Harkness, ‘63


Breaking news! The alumni auction and raf-fle during Homecoming weekend raised over $7,000! Thank you to all who donated items and those who bid on them. The event consisted of both silent and live auctions with items ranging from Wentworth collectibles to a week vacation in the Bahamas. The most unique item up for bid was a set of pink boxer shorts autographed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio (Arizona). The proceeds will be used to support the day to day operations of the Association and help support the alumni scholarship fund. Your Alumni Association will be providing two scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each. This is a large increase from past years. Any and all donations are welcome for next year’s auction.

Alumni Auction A Successby John Francis, ‘83



Homecoming - The Game



Homecoming 2010 In Review



Homecoming 2010 In Review



Thirty were in attendance at the Tulsa Red Dragon rally on September 9th. Along with Oklahoma area old boys, parents of current cadets enjoyed an evening of camaraderie and light hearted conversation. The event was held at the home of Dr. Traub, ‘79 and along with co-host Ron Sipes, ‘61, attendee’s enjoyed first class food in a wonderful Tulsa setting. JB Meyer and Al McCormick were on hand from Wentworth to update the group on current happenings back on campus. Following the event, one of the parents in attendance contacted Wentworth and thanked them for the invitation and said “we are 100% sure we made the right decision in choosing Wentworth for our son’s education”. A great time was had by all. Dates for the next rally in Tulsa will be published soon.

Tulsa Rally A Big Hitby Al McCormick, ‘67

With the greens freshly cut, the sun shining in the sky and the beverage cart fully stocked, Wen-tworth old boys took to the golf course for the first annual Commander Ed Ellis golf outing. Twenty-eight alumni and faculty battled Friday afternoon for the right to hoist the winner’s tro-phy high above their heads. Through “hole spon-sorships”, a cut of the greens fees and the sale of Mulligan cards, the event raised over $1,000 for the school. The winning team of Darryl Lynn, Tom Butherus, Huck Peckinpaugh, and Steve Saltz took first place and will have their names engraved on the Ed Ellis trophy. Thanks to all that participated and we will see you again next year. If you have any interest in sponsoring a “hole” in the future, please contact Al McCormick.

Annual Commander Ed Ellis Golf Outing Held During Homecoming

by John Francis, ‘83

The Golf Winners

The Golf Gang


Homecoming Day 2010 dawned clear and bright as the teams gathered for the 4th Annual Kemper-Went-worth Alumni Trap Shoot. This year’s tournament was held at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s brand new Lake City Shooting Range in eastern Jack-son County. As in years past, the range staff made the participants most welcome, opening the event with a safety briefing and acquainting the shooters with the amenities available at the new facility. After exchanging a few “pleasantries” and renew-ing some old acquaintances, it was time to get to the business of the day. The contestants shot at 25 tar-gets on each of two fields. After tallying the hits for each shooter, the top four scores were added together to determine this year’s winner. The adopted scoring format calls for the top five scores to be taken as an aggregate, thus allowing for competition, while still al-lowing for all to participate in the name of fun. The for-mat was altered this year to accommodate a shortfall in the number of WMA participants. Wentworth was represented this year by Marvin Wrisinger ’80 of Lexington, MO, Norton Dillard ’69 of St. Louis, MO, Jay Johnson ’77 of Jasper, GA and team captain Bill Heltzel ’77 of Short Pump, VA. All are veterans of previous shoots. Congratulations to Wrisinger, who took honors as the high gun for WMA. The Red Dragons came to play, but were outnum-bered by 2-1. Because the scoring format allowed Kemper to throw out fully half its scores, when the smoke cleared the Yellowjackets came out on top. This series now stands tied for the first time.

4th Annual Kemper-Wentworth Alumni Trap Shootby Bill Heltzel, ‘77

The next renewal of the Wentworth-Kemper rival-ry will be October 8, 2011. This is your opportunity to help WMA regain the lead in this event. With the scoring set up to en-courage participation, it is important that the Red Dragons field as many shooters as possible. If you were never a varsity competitor as a Cadet, here’s your opportunity to BEAT KEMPER!

Pictures by Laura Williams of the Kemper Alumni Association


Eighteen years ago the call went out for alumni to support a new program to benefit Wentworth Military Academy. The program would be called “Alumni Work Weekend” and was the brainchild of Christie Butler, ’71 & Carl Stempel, ’72 Alumni Council members. Thus began the tradition of alumni gathering on the first weekend of August to bring their talents, hammers, saws, paintbrushes & energy to work on projects that needed help around the Academy. Over the years the projects have varied from painting classrooms, barracks, football stadium railings & bleachers, hand railings around campus, sheet-rock patching, refurbishing buildings, drill rifle stock repair & refinishing, planting flowers & bushes, trimming bushes, general yard maintenance, roofing the stadium concession stand, painting the library, moving books, cleaning out storage facilities, refurbish-ing and repair memorials, and numerous other projects. During all this work something else was accomplished; the coming together of different alumni classes in support of our Academy and sharing “war stories” and building friendships. The “Old Boys” gave of their time, talent, finances, slept in the barracks and ate in the mess hall, cooked, carried water and enjoyed the time they spent on campus. Some contacted their former room-mates, brought family members all in support of Alumni Work Weekend. The ages of workers have run from 3 years old to mid 70’s. One young supporter helped plant flowers & every year comes to see how “his flowers” are doing. Another young man, age 5, started as a “gopher” the first year & later graduated from junior college. This year he was unable to attend for the first time being deployed in Afghanistan but e-mailed Chris Butler to say “I owe you a weekend and will work twice as hard next year.” Throughout the years over 9,525 hours have been volunteered with an estimated value of $120,000 in man-hours and supplies. This year’s work weekend 12 came back to Wentworth to continue the tradi-tion and worked on the Vietnam Memorial, Health Center & Alumni House. So, mark your calendar for the 1st weekend in August and come join your fellow “Old Boys” in helping our Academy and continue the tradition.

Work Weekend A Great Success, and Fun Tooby Chris Butler

Pictures by Chris Butler



Documents

Published by the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni …Published by the Wentworth Military Academy Alumni Association ... [email protected] Lexington, MO Area Al McCormick, ‘67: