Louthan ’41 Receives New Market Medal Frank G. Louthan Jr. ’41 received VMI’s New Market Medal in a ceremony held as part of the Institute’s New Market Day commemoration on May 15, 2012. “Frank Louthan clearly exemplifies the qualities set forth by the Board of Visitors in 1962, those of leadership, determination and loyalty, which were displayed by the Corps of Cadets at the Battle of New Market,” said Paul D. Fraim ’71, president of the Board of Visitors. Louthan is honored in part for his leadership from 1977-90 of the VMI Campaign, which raised more than $150 million. “This remarkable result has had profoundly positive effects,” said Vincent J. Thomas ’43, in nominating Louthan for the medal. “It established the financial footing on which VMI has built, expanded and improved in every way, to the end that today the Institute stands out in fields of academic achievement, athletic competitiveness, and military and civilian leadership development.” During the years of the campaign, Louthan served on the VMI Board of Visitors and as its president; as a member and president of the VMI Foundation Board of Trustees; as president of the VMI Development Board that set the initial course for the VMI Campaign; and as chairman of the campaign’s Leadership Gifts Committee. He received the Distinguished Service Award, the VMI Foundation’s highest honor, in 1992. As a cadet, Louthan earned a degree in civil engineering and received a First Jackson-Hope Medal. He was a cadet lieutenant and a member of the Monogram Club and the track team. After graduation, he served as a major in the U.S. Army and was in the European Theater in 1944-45. After the war, he remained in the Army Reserve, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1958. After leaving active service, Louthan’s career included positions
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with Lone Star Cement, Crenshaw Equipment Co., Concrete Pipe and Products, Everett Waddey Co., Richmond Engineering, and RECO Industries. He has been active in the civic life of his community, holding positions ranging from governor of the Capital District of Kiwanis International to chairman of the Port Commission of the city of Richmond, Virginia, and, more recently, member of the board of trustees of the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation. Louthan is the 13th recipient of the New Market Medal, which was last presented in 2006.
Reviewing the Corps during the New Market Day Parade were, from left, Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III ’62, superintendent; Frank G. Louthan III ’66; Frank G. Louthan Jr. ’41; Robert P. Louthan ’82; and Col. Thomas H. Trumps ’79, commandant. VMI photo by Kevin Remington.
VMI ALUMNI REVIEW