11/12/2021
Ferrum College students, faculty, staff, and community members attended the College’s annual Veterans Day ceremony in Vaughn Chapel on November 11, 2021. Ferrum College alumnus and Brigadier General (Ret.) Burt Thompson ’82 was the keynote speaker.
Retired U.S. Army Sergeant and Professor of English Melvin Macklin brought greetings to attendees on behalf of Ferrum College. After the “National Anthem” was sung, Campus Minister Laura Robinson gave the invocation and President David Johns welcomed the crowd. Vice President for Institutional Advancement and External Relations Wilson Paine ’07 introduced BG (Ret.) Thompson, who spoke about his own experience, first as a student at Ferrum College and then as a military service member. He said, “We only celebrate Veterans Day for a few minutes and then this country’s life carries on – as it should – but I think it most appropriate that we recall this occasion during the moments when we are faced with great responsibilities. Recall the contributions and sacrifices which so many men and women, and their families, have made that permits us to gather like we are today.”
Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin Reilly recognized veterans in the audience and then Ferrum’s “Alma Mater” was sung. President David Johns ended the ceremony by speaking to attendees about veterans’ sacrifices. He said, “Do something meaningful to make life more peaceful and free.”
Ferrum College is a Yellow Ribbon school, which means that the College honors military benefits for active duty or retired military students, or dependents of military personnel. Currently, 24 of Ferrum’s students utilize military benefits.
Watch a recorded version of the ceremony here.
See photos from the event here.
More about BG (Ret.) Thompson:
BG (Ret.) Thompson served for 31 years as the Deputy Director for Strategic Plans and Policy in the U.S. Pacific Command, and retired in 2015.
As a resident of Mount Vernon, Virginia, he now serves as the president of Data Machines Corp., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business that provides solutions in data analytics, dev-ops, machine intelligence, and data science. He also supports war fighter exercises as the senior mentor and highly qualified expert for the U.S. Army Mission Command Training Program. He teaches national security decision-making and effective leadership processes as a mentor for the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute and National Security Executive Leadership Seminar.
BG (Ret.) Thompson coaches over 100 senior officers and their spouses each year on successful transition from military to civilian life as the course facilitator and instructor for the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy General Officer and Flag Officer Transition Program.
After earning an Associate of Arts degree from Ferrum College in 1982, BG (Ret.) Thompson received a Bachelor of Arts in government from Norwich University. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in Advanced Military Studies from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College; another Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College; and a Master of Science in Personal Management and Administration from Central Michigan University.
BG (Ret.) Thompson is also a 2014 recipient of Ferrum College’s Beckham Medallion, the College’s highest alumni honor. Named after the College’s first president, Dr. Benjamin M. Beckham, the Medallion is awarded to an alumnus or alumna who exemplifies in an exceptional manner the Ferrum motto, “Not Self, But Others.”
