Academy Fun Facts

Presidential Parades & Appearances

• 1965 - Lyndon Johnson
• 1961 - John F. Kennedy
• 1957 - Dwight Eisenhower
• 1905 - Teddy Roosevelt

In 1985, former President Jimmy Carter spoke at his daughter's graduation from the Academy.

The Great Gesture

In 1932, Colonel Woodward decided that the Academy belonged not to himself or his associates. It belonged to the community and the state and country that it had served. So he bought back all outstanding stock of the school and secured a new charter incorporating GMA as an institution with a self- perpetuating board of alumni and his children to serve as administrators.

Was there a college on campus?

Georgia Military Academy had a Junior College from 1940 until 1953.

Camp GMA

The Academy had a summer camp in South Fulton called GMAcres. It was in use from the late 1950s until the early 1970s when it was sold. A variety of activities including horseback riding and canoeing were offered at summer camps held at GMAcres. The football team also held pre-season camps there.

Regimental Commanders

During the GMA days there was a regimental commander picked from the student body. Traditionally the cadet was a boarder, since most of the students at the time stayed on campus. In 1952, the first day student was selected as the commander. The honor went to Ray Woodall during his time in the Junior College.

Athletics

• The first athletic field was built in 1902; it included a race track and basketball courts (see below).
• In the late 1940s and early 1950s, GMA held Strength and Variety Shows that drew quite a crowd to campus and to traveling shows.
• GMA was the overall Mid-South Boxing Champions from 1949-1951; they also had several individual champions during that time.
• Many of the sports during the GMA days were intramurals, with competition between the dormitories which continued through the 1960s.
• GMA eventually joined the Georgia High School Athletic Association in the 1960s. This broadened the athletic program and the Academy became one of the powers in Georgia high school athletics.

Facilities

• The Academy’s first building, Founder’s Hall, originally had no running water, no electric lights and no modern sanitation facilities.
• The oldest structure from the original campus is the base part of the front gate, which was installed in 1929. The house used for College Counseling offices and the the Parents Club Consignment Shop was constructed in 1893. The Ann and Ben Johnson Center, which is currently home to the Advancement Office, was also in 1893.
• In the numbers! Did you know there were,
  • 4,047 lockers
  • 1,273 doors
  • 6,291 chairs
  • 7,863 places for people to sit (chairs, benches and bleachers)
  • There are 870,000 total square feet in the 55 structures the Academy owns (this does not include the Dobbs gym addition for winter 2009 and the New Athletic Complex)

Woodward Television

Woodward Television was initiated by Capt. William R. Brewster Jr. in 1966 and was located in Brewster Hall in the Upper School. Realizing many students were not listening to morning announcements over the intercom, he felt the medium of television would be more likely to hold their attention, especially when the information was produced and aired by fellow classmates. With $85,000, Capt. Brewster converted two classrooms in Brewster Hall into a high-tech closed-circuit television station that reached all classrooms in that building on channel 4. Today, the Video Production Department is located in Richardson Hall, built in 1978, and broadcasts to seven different buildings around campus.

From 1966 until 1998 the television program functioned as a service club that met four mornings every week to broadcast live announcements to Upper School students. Since then program has shifted its focus where students are evaluated and graded on their technical as well as creative skills in the field of video production through a classroom setting. More...

About our Organ

In 2005 Woodward received a new organ which was given to us by Sylan Hills Baptist Church. More about our organ...

Our Centennial Celebration, 1999-2000 school year

• During the closing celebration Diane Shurr and KC & The Sunshine Band performed for students, parents, alumni, faculty/staff and friends of the Academy.
• There was also a school-wide art show, class reunions, a car show, a history display, and an all-elementary school choir during the celebration.
• A variety of Centennial merchandise was sold.
• Special Web site sections, print publications and a yearbook with academy history were also made available.