Joining The Team: Lou Massett

R-MA is thrilled to welcome Mr. Louis Massett as the new Director of Advancement!

This is Lou’s second stint on “the Hill” after spending a year as a Cadet Life Supervisor back in 2003-2004. Since that time, Lou has been in education working as a teacher, coach, and Head of School. “Teaching and coaching brought so much joy to my life. It made transitioning into philanthropy easy,” said Massett.

Inspired by an endeavor he spearheaded as Chief Development Officer at Hargrave Military Academy, one of Lou’s first projects at R-MA will be working with class reunion committees to collect the stories of alumni celebrating milestone reunions - 50 th , 40 th , 25 th , and 10 th . The Advancement Team will work with Brian Kelly, Director of the Unmanned Systems Lab (and an award-winning film producer!) to create video montages of the best moments of each reunion class’s time at R-MA.

“Not only will these videos serve as heartfelt keepsakes, they’ll also give R-MA the chance to inspire current cadets and future families by showcasing alumni successes in life,” explained Massett. “In the long run, I hope these videos will provide the blueprint for a full-fledged documentary about R-MA.”

Lou also plans to enhance and create regional chapters for R-MA alumni, to celebrate lives of those who have passed through the Academy’s hallowed halls.

“The goal of the chapter program is to build up the network amongst R-MA alumni,” he said. “There are four key aspects to successful chapters: career and business networking, localized scholarship opportunities, fellowship, and mentoring. I want our school community to continue to provide support long after cadets graduate.”

The challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic inspired Lou to share what he’s learned from his experience in education and philanthropy: the joy of the work is that it’s all about community building. Community is one of the big reasons why he’s returned to R-MA.

“My wife and I met here in Front Royal at Christendom College,” he recalled. “We have a lot of family and friends here. General Wesley has an incredible vision for R-MA and has positioned the school for unparalleled success. I’m thrilled to have the privilege to be part of story he and the rest of the R-MA family are creating.”

For more information, contact Lou Massett at lmassett@rma.edu or at 540-636-5206.