On Monday, February 23, 2015 at 7:00 pm, the officers of the Randolph-Macon Academy Middle School Interact Club attended the Front Royal Town Council meeting to present Front Royal Mayor Timothy Darr with a T-shirt and an honorary membership in the R-MA Middle School Interact Club.
The Interact Club officers present for the occasion were Interact Club President Aman Atwal ’20 of Springfield, Vice President Alan Williams ’20 of Front Royal, Club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, Ishmael Bobbitt ’19 of Fairfax, and Club Treasurer Josiah Herring ’20 of Linden.
Atwal spoke for the group, giving a brief history of the club in his introduction. “The Randolph-Macon Academy Middle School Interact Club was formed in the fall of 2011, with the help of the Rotary Club of Linden, Virginia,” he said. “Since our beginning, we have had the privilege of contributing over 3,000 hours of community service, and have raised over $7,000.00 for others in need, through a variety of activities and fund raisers.”
Atwal then went on to talk about Darr’s contributions to the group. “Last year, Mayor Darr took time out of his busy schedule to help us. All Mr. [Michael] Williams [the faculty advisor] asked of the Mayor was that he show up, thank us for our efforts, and let us take a photo. Mayor Darr did much more, to include helping us pick up trash. The comments from my classmates ranged from ‘Remind me who that dude is,’ to ‘That was really cool of the mayor to do that with us.’ Recently, Mayor Darr wrote a letter of support of us to the Governor of Virginia, in support of an effort to help our club receive recognition among the Governors Community Service Ambassadors,” said Atwal.
Because of that interaction, Atwal explained, several members of the group suggested that they give Darr an Interact T-shirt and make him an honorary member. Atwal concluded, “As such, on behalf of the Interact Club of The Randolph-Macon Academy Middle School, it is my honor and privilege to make Mayor Darr an honorary member of our club. Mr. Mayor, thank you for your kindness, your support and your leadership by example.”
Darr thanked the students and posed for photos with the group of officers. “Thank you so much, and this is truly an honor,” he said. “The ones that really should be commended is your Interact Club, for the amount of time and work. Jennifer McDonald from the EDA is here, and she can attest to how clean Kendrick Lane looks as opposed to how it used to look years ago. You guys do a great job. I appreciate it and I am honored to be an honorary member of your group. Thank you very much.”
A video of the presentation can be seen on http://video.frontroyalva.com/, under the 2015-02-23 Town Council Meeting. The presentation occurs around the 1:30 mark.
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Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational day and boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA’s 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) and have the option to participate in a flight program. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, VA.