RI Academy Alumni to Hold Annual Banquet

RAPPAHANNOCK, Va.
The Rappahannock Industrial Academy Alumni Association will hold its annual banquet on Saturday, July 29, at 1 p.m. at Immanuel Baptist Church, 317 Town Bridge Road, Saluda, Virginia.

This event celebrates the legacy of the Rappahannock Industrial Academy, a private school that was located at what was then Ozeana (now Dunnsville) in Essex County. The Reverend Ella Harris Johnson will be the speaker. She is an Associate Minister of Good Hope Baptist Church, Dunnsville, Virginia, and a member of the Association’s Board of Directors.

The Rappahannock Industrial Academy began operation at a time when there were no public high schools in the area for African-American students. A boarding school run by the Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association, it was in operation from 1902 to 1948, and primarily served students from Essex, King and Queen, and Middlesex counties.

Formed in 1975, the RI Academy Alumni Association has awarded college scholarships to outstanding high school seniors in Essex, King and Queen, and Middlesex counties for more than forty years. A highlight of the year’s banquet will be the introduction of the 2017 scholarship winners: Khaila A. Nelson of King and Queen, Ja’Mel I. Reed of Middlesex, and Ziyah S. Smith of Essex. Destiny Chamberlain, Malik Martin, and Jayana Murdoch, who have been awarded scholarship renewals for the sophomore year, will also be acknowledged.

The public is invited to attend the banquet. Please call (804) 758-5163 to reserve a ticket. Tax-deductible contributions to support the RI Academy scholarship fund may be directed to TCF/RI Academy Alumni Association, P.O. Box 1154, Dunnsville, VA 22454.