Caissons Deliver Cheer

Waynesboro, VA — Yesterday a group of Cadets from Fishburne Military School paid a special visit to one of the area’s nursing homes in order to spread a little cheer and beauty. Following the school’s annual Winter Parents Day there were a large number of fresh flowers left-over from table arrangements and foyer decorations.

“I thought it would be nice to do something useful with these flowers instead of just tossing them out,” notes Kathy Berrang, head of FMS Student Services and Assistant to the Commandant of Cadets. So, Mrs. Berrang put out a sign-up sheet for any Cadets who were interested in paying a visit to Shenandoah Nursing Home.

It didn’t take long for her sheet to fill and soon Mrs. Berrang was escorting eleven Cadets with thirty bouquets of fresh flowers to nearby Fishersville. “The residents were so happy to see the Cadets and they were touched by the flowers,” she smiled. “The boys were well rewarded with hugs and kisses from some of those sweet ladies there.”

“This is an absolutely perfect example,” noted FMS Superintendent COL Gary Morrison (VA), himself a 1981 Fishburne graduate, “of how one small, simple gesture can have an incredible impact upon people’s lives. It meant something very special to those seniors…the fact that they are remembered and valued by these boys is a gift that will far outlast those flowers.  For our young men, it was a great reminder of the impact that a simple act of thoughtfulness can have.”

“As a school,” Morrison continued, “we are blessed to have positive role models like Mrs. Berrang interacting with our Cadets each and every day.  It’s people like Kathy Berrang that make Fishburne Military School such a special and life-changing place.”

Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built upon the structure of an Army JROTC program. FMS is designated as a JROTC Honor Unit with Distinction and may nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academics. Fishburne hosts one of only four Summer JROTC programs in the nation, accredited by US Army Cadet Command.