We will pause during the coming week to celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday, and to give thanks for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us.

Our cadets come from a wide variety of backgrounds and we are grateful for the range of perspectives they bring to our community. These young men come from all over the globe and we are thankful for the diversity of God's creation.

We are thankful for our own great nation, and the unique protections of liberty enshrined in the US Constitution that empower us to be an independent school and allow us to honor and maintain the traditional Christian values on which we were founded.

We are thankful for Fork Union Military Academy and for the members of our faculty and staff. These teachers, administrators, and support staff work tirelessly every day to carry out our mission of educating, developing, and inspiring the young men in our care. We are grateful for their dedication and sacrifice.

We are very grateful for our alumni and other benefactors in the FUMA Family who have supported and sustained the Academy and its mission for more than 124 years.

We are deeply appreciative of the parents and families of our cadets. We are thankful for your trust in us demonstrated by your son's enrollment at Fork Union Military Academy and we are grateful for the opportunity to educate these young men who will shape our world's future.

And finally, to the young men who wear the uniform of the Corps of Cadets of Fork Union Military Academy, we are so proud of you and so thankful that you are here. This is a challenging environment that you have chosen, with high standards and high expectations. You must earn that uniform by your hard work each day. You must be laser focused on achievement and not get sidetracked by those things that would pull you down or be damaging to you in body, mind, or spirit. You are the men who will leaders in the years ahead: leaders of families, leaders of your communities, and leaders of our nations. You make us proud and we are so thankful for each one of you. On behalf of all the staff and faculty at Fork Union Military Academy, I wish you a safe, happy, and restful Thanksgiving break.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1

May God bless you abundantly during this special time of year.

Go FUMA!

In Christ,
Colonel David L. Coggins, USMC (Ret.)
President
Fork Union Military Academy