The Story of the Century ... Continued (Association History)

The fundraising effort—the February 1 announcement letter, Mike
Colalillo’s C-Note, articles in the Newsletter, the brochure, and other
appeals—had raised $98,071 by mid-March 2001. Since the money was
available, it was decided to award the first scholarship. An award of
$2,500 was presented on May 14, 2001 to Cadet Ryan M. Davis, VMI
Class of 2002. Cadet Davis attended our Association’s 2002 convention
and gave a short thank-you talk.
Operation Legacy, now commonly referred to as OpLeg, was the firstpage
feature in the April 2001 Association Newsletter. For the first time,
a full-page pledge form was included and a listing of all those who had
given or who had pledged, approximately 640 total. Joe Collie wrote the
article and continued to write articles for the Newsletters explaining
OpLeg and asking for donations.
By mid March 2002 the OpLeg endowment had grown to $175,000.
On May 14, 2002, two scholarships were awarded for the first time, one
to a rising senior and one to a rising junior.
In September 2002 the VMI musical combo, a bugler, and their Color
Guard participated in the Association’s convention in McLean, Virginia,
including its memorial services and the laying of wreaths at graves of
George C. Marshall, General Burress, and the tomb of the Unknown
Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. This participation highlighted
OpLeg and its tie to VMI.
In Joe Collie’s report to the membership in April 2003, the headline
read “$300,000 Ultimate Goal in Sight.” By March of that year, the
endowment fund had reached $233,017. This permitted three scholarships
to be awarded in May, one for $3,000 and two for $2,500. The
Association’s original goal of $300,000 was exceeded by the end of 2004;
a total of $326,847 had been raised. In that year, four scholarships of
$3,000 each were given. On May 1, 2005 money from the scholarship
fund was transferred to The Marshall Library to increase their archives
endowment to $25,000. On May 14 four scholarships were awarded at
VMI, each for $3,500.
The Association’s fund raising effort continued in 2006, and the number
of scholarships remained at four in the amount of $4,000 each. For the
past four years, through 2009, the Association has given four awards,
each for $4,000.
In 2004 those who gave varying amounts were listed in the Newsletter.
Originally these were listed under monetary classes, later this was
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