LWMA Alumni Speakers Share Their Insights and Wisdom with Cadets

CAMP HILL, AL - Two prominent graduates of Lyman Ward Military Academy spoke to cadets on campus this week, sharing how their experiences at Alabama's premier secondary military boarding school contributed to their successful lives.

Rev. Von McQueen, a long-time member of the Academy's Board of Trustees and a LWMA graduate from the Class of 1966, spoke to Mr. Jeff Damron's Comparative Religion class on April 13 about Christianity's apocalyptic view of history. Rev. McQueen is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Thorsby, AL. He holds a B.A. degree from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and an M.Div. degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.

Mr. Dale Brown, graduate of the LWMA Class of 1985, spoke to selected cadets on April 16.  A systems engineer by training, Mr. Brown serves as the President and CEO of WILMAX Clinical Research in Mobile,AL, a medical research firm. After graduating from Lyman Ward, he served for six years in the United States Air Force and attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL.

Brown told the cadets that his experiences as a cadet at Lyman Ward shaped his professional and personal development more than any other single factor in his life.

"Lyman Ward taught me so many lessons that have served me well in the corporate world," Brown said. "Foremost among these lessons are the two things that can never be taken from you – your word and your honor. LWMA taught me how to treat people with respect, and earn their respect."

Brown assured the cadets that the self-discipline and integrity they are learning at the Academy "will serve you well in whatever field you enter after graduation. The values you are learning at Lyman Ward are needed more than ever before in today's world."