Kaine tours Fishburne, meets cadets
When U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine visited Waynesboro to talk downtown development in May, administrators at Fishburne Military School invited him to stop by to tour the school.
Despite his interest, Kaine had to decline due to a full schedule. He didn’t forget that invitation, though, and two weeks ago requested time to tour the campus and talk to cadets.
Kaine spent a little over an hour at the Waynesboro private school Thursday before leaving for an open house at his regional office in Roanoke.
“I really wanted to come back for a number of reasons,” Kaine told the about 50 people in attendance Thursday. Kaine has a son in the military and sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. But the main reason he wanted to tour Fishburne was to see the education of tomorrow’s citizen leaders and military leaders, he said.
Fishburne’s Superintendent Col. Gary Morrison said Kaine’s visit was an “honor” and something that will not be forgotten in Fishburne’s history.
“We’re just really excited,” Morrison said. “When a U.S. senator selects your school to visit without an invitation, it’s an occasion to be marked.”
Kaine began his visit by meeting members of Fishburne’s senior staff. He observed a demonstration of cadets rappelling off the side of a building as well as a rope bridge exercise.
Kaine greeted members of the rope bridge team after their demonstration, shaking their hands and asking their names and grade levels.
Cadets then led the senator to the mess hall, where he ate lunch, and talked to them about their interests, education and plans after graduation.
After walking through the courtyard, Kaine concluded his visit in the library, where he observed a scholarship presentation ceremony.
Cadet Josiah Pleasents, a sophomore and second-year student at Fishburne, was presented with a scholarship to cover his three years at Fishburne in their entirety. The award was given by Mike Shriver, a representative of NewDay USA Foundation.
The Foundation selected two military schools from which to choose a student for a full-ride scholarship. The student selected would have to be a child or grandchild of a veteran wounded or killed in the line of duty.
Col. Morrison had encouraged Pleasents to apply for the scholarship. Pleasents was raised by his grandmother and grandfather, Janet and Michael Pleasents. Michael lost part of his leg while serving in the Army in 1970 and 1971.
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