A Special Preview:

Usery is not the only name found throughout GMC's new Prep School. Outside of each door are plaques bearing the names of more than 60 donors who helped fulfill GMC’s Promise Campaign through various naming opportunities.

A private tour and reception to honor these contributors was held on the evening before the dedication of the building. These donors and their families were able to get the first look at the well-appointed rooms and stately furnishings, and walk the halls which would be flooded with cadets the following morning.

Each day, these cadets will pass between monumental display cases, topped with the words Knowledge, Leadership and Service. Their footsteps will fall across the words Duty, Honor and County, etched into the paths before them - words that are a constant reminder of GMC’s basic values and mission.

“As I have stated on various occasions, the repetition of values on a daily basis has the long term effect of being implanted in the hearts and minds of these young people,” said Boylan during the tour. “But too, they will be uplifted by being exposed daily to the accomplishments of a great American one of our own, Secretary Usery who, over a lifetime, has contributed to this place we call home, the United States of America.”

Examples of Usery’s lifetime of contributions are displayed in the main lobby. Beginning with his childhood in Hardwick, Ga., students can trace his path from GMC to the Pacific during World War II; from Cape Canaveral at the height of the Space Race to the Nixon White House at the height of the Civil Rights Movement; from Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to Secretary of Labor; and from railroads to airlines and factories to coal mines around the world.

This chronicle of accomplishments surrounds a quote by the famous philosopher, Aristotle: “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”

These words are a sum total of what made Usery such an effective negotiator, mediator and arbiter in some of the nation’s most critical labor disputes. He found knowledge through an open mind open to diverse opinions and open to incredible possibilities all the while being able to hold true to his own convictions, strongly rooted in his experience at GMC.

A bronze bust of Bill Usery, lovingly crafted by his wife, Fran Pardee-Usery -- a gifted artist and sculptor -- was unveiled during the tour. The bust holds a permanent place in the building’s main lobby.