3/20/08
In Their Honor
LMA dedicates facilities; celebrates past, present, future leaders
By Eric Goold

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Mr. Gene Nalley offers his remarks at the facilities dedication ceremony at Laurence Manning Academy last Sunday afternoon. Seated next to Nalley are (left to right) the Honorable Tommy Cooper, LMA girls basketball coach Mike Lowder and LMA Headmaster Spencer Jordan.

It was a great day for Laurence Manning Academy.

Last Sunday afternoon in the Bubba Davis Gymnasium, friends, family and supporters of LMA gathered to honor past leaders, praise current students and look forward to a bright future in a dedication ceremony for their new facilities.

“Thank you for sharing this very special day in the life of LMA,” Headmaster Spencer Jordan said to well over 200 people gathered in the gym.

LMA undertook a massive renovation and rebuilding of its facilities over the last year and a half. An ultra-modern, state of the art, brand new high school building was also constructed during that time.

The purpose of Sunday’s ceremony was to recognize three key members of the LMA family, praise their very generous effort and sacrifice for the school and dedicate the new facilities in their names.

Gene Nalley, who served the school’s longest tenure as Headmaster, Jane Wilson, the longtime voice and face of LMA and the school’s head secretary, and original Headmaster and veteran math teacher Curtis Lee all received portraits and plaques that will be placed on the new facilities that are now named after them.

“The first thing that comes to mind about Mr. Lee is how much he loves children and loves to teach,” said Jordan. “Mrs. Wilson loves this school more than anyone I’ve ever been associated with. And I will always owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Nalley for taking me under his wing and showing me the way to guide and steer LMA into the future.

“I’ve been truly blessed to have these three remarkable people beside me,” said Jordan. “I look forward to many more days working with them to serve the students, parents and the entire LMA family.”

The ceremony began with an invocation by LMA girls basketball coach Mike Lowder, who cited a Bible verse from Philippians that summed up his feelings for the trio of honorees.

“I thank my God every time I remember you,” said Lowder. “I have been fortunate and blessed to be associated with all three of you.”

The Honorable Tommy Cooper, a member of the Board of Directors at LMA, provided a historical context for the dedication ceremony, taking the audience back to LMA’s origin in 1972. He introduced Lee, Wilson and Nalley and directed the unveiling of the portraits and plaques, which was conducted by family members of the three honorees.

First up was Wilson, who Cooper praised as the voice and face of LMA. Wilson served as physical education teacher, yearbook and student newspaper sponsor, librarian and then in 1980 became the head secretary.

“She has been the face of LMA ever since then, showing the school to visiting parents and students,” said Cooper. “That face showed her beauty, her charm, and occasionally, her devilish sense of humor.”
Wilson drew several laughs from the audience with her brief remarks.

“Like you say, I’ve been here a long time,” said Wilson. “I’ve been through seven Headmasters. My favorite three of them are up here right now.”

She concluded her remarks by reading a poem she wrote about LMA after a devastating fire destroyed much of the school in 1979.

“Mr. Curtis Lee left a secure and well paying job to become the first Headmaster at LMA,” said Cooper. “Which was neither secure nor well paying. Good math teachers are hard to find, and Mr. Lee has responded faithfully every time he’s been called.”

Lee served three different stints at LMA, the most recent starting in 2002 when he went back to teaching math.

“If it’s true that you are judged by the company you keep, I’m in good hands today,” said Lee. He then regaled the crowd with stories about a blimp that flew over LMA one day, a circus that once visited and a humorous anecdote about the lone disastrous attempt to sell perfume as a fundraiser for the school.

The final presentation went to Nalley, after whom the new high school building was named.

“For two-thirds of the life of LMA, he has been the leader,” said Cooper. “He has been the constant.”

Nalley talked about his commitment to kids.

“From the very beginning, education was for me all about the kids,” he said. “The reason I took this job, I asked, ‘Will we have the freedom to teach these kids good Christian values?’ They said yes, absolutely, and so did I.

“And for 26 years, I’ve got to see a little piece of Heaven right here,” he added. Nalley then gave a tearful thank you to the Board and to his family and there was not a dry eye in the gym.

After the ceremony, patrons took tours of the magnificent new high school building. Walking through the fine facility, everyone agreed with Jordan’s last words to the crowd.

“We’ve just scratched the surface of what we’re capable of here at LMA,” he said.