Derek Rogers arrived at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro in 2009 as a high-school sophomore in need of some direction.

“My attitude and my grades were horrible,” said Rogers, a native of Richmond who is leaving Fishburne this weekend as the Class of 2012 valedictorian.

The focus and discipline that is the focus of life at Fishburne, a 130-cadet all-boys private school founded in 1879, were keys to Rogers’ eventual success.

And that success, as it came in the classroom and on the drill field, started to feed on itself.

“As soon as I started getting all As, it was hard to not get all As. You’re in that rhythm of doing your work, studying, just get all your work done,” said Rogers, who is headed to the University of Florida in the fall to study sports management.

“I picked sports management because all my life, I’ve been a sports fan. I love it, all of it, the backstage stuff in sports, not just the gameday,” said Rogers, who plans to go to law school with the goal of becoming a sports agent.

But that’s off in the distance. As his days at Fishburne come to a close, Rogers knows he’s leaving the school with “an amazing advantage in time-management skills, organization and leadership.”

“I definitely don’t plan on going to Florida and not standing out. I feel like when I get there, I’m going to stand out, not only because of my attributes, but also because of what I’ve had to go through at Fishburne. There’s nothing that can really scare me now,” Rogers said.

Chandler Bryant was struggling through his freshman year in high school in Virginia Beach when his parents came to him with an idea.

Let’s send you to summer school at Fishburne.

“My grades were slipping a little bit, and my parents decided, Hey, how about we just send you here? It would be a good place, a good experience. So I was, like, alright. I was on the bandwagon,” said Bryant, who had such a good experience with the five-week summer-school session last summer that he decided to stay on at Fishburne for his sophomore year.

“It was my choice to come back for the full school year,” Bryant said. “I really enjoyed it here. I have a lot of good friends. I’ve learned a lot of new things. It was a really good experience. That’s why I decided to come back in the fall.”

Now he’s on track to graduate from FMS in 2014, and he’s a solid A-B student. He’s also happy to tell anybody else who’s thinking about doing summer school at Fishburne to get off the fence and get packing.

“I recommend going to summer school because you make good friends, really good guys here. It’s a great place. You get a great experience from it. There are great leaders here. It’s just a life-changing thing. You’re brothers forever,” Bryant said.

Fishburne Military School track highlights from May 12 Virginia Independent Conference meet at Virginia Episcopal School, Lynchburg.

Discus: Andrew Simons, 6th, 89’5″

Shot Put: Andrew Simons, 4th, 31’10″
Michael Davis, 5th, 31’7″

4 x 800 relay (1st): Chip Collins, David Raines, James Park, Chance Berry

110 Hurdles: Travis Knapp, 2nd, 20.6

300 Hurdles: Travis Knapp, 4th, 50.4

100 Meter Dash: Bevan Morrison-Rodgers, 6th, 12.4

1600 Meter Run: Colin Turnnidge, 2nd, 4:43

4 x 100 relay (3rd): Morrison-Rodgers, Sean Hughes, Zach McIntyre, TJ Mason

400 Meter Dash: Mason, 3rd, 55.4

800 Meter Run: Raines, 2nd, 2:11

200 Meter Dash: Morrison Rodgers, 4th, 25.1; Mason 5th, 25.4

Written by Joseph B. Yount III

Two days before Bob Kerby and I graduated from Fishburne Military School, the then commandant told me that he was happy one of us was going to UVA and the other to VA Tech, because no place could possibly survive if the two of us were enrolled together.

I had known Bob Kerby from grade school and early on found him a genius in many ways. A ham radio operator at age 10, this faithful young Methodist liked to assure us that his call letters W4BLD stood for Whiskey for Breakfast Lunch and Dinner. That was said for shock value, of course, but in truth long before he came to Fishburne he could build his own receivers and hi fi equipment, had a basement that looked like an FM radio station, and regularly spoke with ham pals on every continent.

From that time on through the most advanced computer age, Bob mastered the current communication techniques of the era, year after year, and it opened many worlds to him. He liked to dazzle people with his ability, and he regularly succeeded with me. At Fishburne he hid the first tape recorder I ever saw in our press so we could quiz underclassmen as to their opinions of faculty leaders and threaten to play the tapes publicly. This continued until the commandant confiscated the tape and the recorder.

As all of you know, Bob and I spent decades together after graduation at Fishburne working with others to try to save the school during turbulent times that saw two-thirds of the military schools in this county and this country close their doors. There was a big difference in how we did it. I was on the sidelines as a trustee, while for many critical years Bob literally ran the show. He loved Fishburne and it is not an exaggeration to say that without him it might well have perished. He worked tirelessly long hours often seven days a week, and he managed to meet budget demands and bring innovation while at the same time befriending, counseling, and mentoring generations of cadets who learned to love and respect him. Many are here today, and many more have logged in on the Fishburne website to express their sorrow at the passing of one who greatly influenced their most significant years of youth. I know my contemporaries will agree when I say that he did more hands-on work than any of our generation to save our precious school.

For nearly seventy years he was my pal, valued advisor, indefatigable challenger, and frequent companion in work and play. In his loss I find myself remembering one of the most remarkable friends of a lifetime, whose heart was generous, whos intentions were good, and whose accomplishments could be called monumental. Good bye, Bob. Thanks for the memories.

FMS Highlights
- 4 x 800 relay (Turnnidge, Collins, Park, Berry), 2nd, 9:29
- 100: Morrison-Rodgers, 3rd, 12.2
- 400 T. J. Mason, 1st, 55.8 (won by .1)
- 800: Berry, 3rd, 2:24 (ran well but somewhat dead legs from a Sunday cycling event)
- 1600: Turnnidge, 1st, 4:55 (slow, tactical race that came down to a final sprint); Park, 5th, 5:41
- 4 x 100 relay (Morrison-Rodgers, Hughes, McIntyre, Mason), 3rd, 48.2
- 3200: Harold, 2nd, 13:30
- Discus: Simons, 4th, 93’8″

Next up: Virginia Independent Conference Meet, Virginia Episcopal School, Lynchburg, May 12, 1000.