______________________________________________________________________________________________
For additional information:
Debbie Wieland, Public Affairs Officer at (956) 421-9235;
wieland@mma-tx.org
320 Iwo Jima
Blvd./Harlingen, Texas 78550
Date: 22 October 2007 - FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Event Date: 2-4 November
2007 Release No.: 07-17
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THOUSANDS FLOCK TO RIO
GRANDE VALLEY TO OBSERVE MARINE MILITARY ACADEMY’S 42nd
BIRTHDAY EVENTS
Harlingen,
TX – The Marine Military Academy’s
(MMA) 42nd Birthday Ball Weekend is scheduled for
Friday through Sunday, 2-4 November 2007. The weekend
commemorates both the 42nd birthday of the
Academy and the 232nd birthday of the United
States Marine Corps, and is held in conjunction with MMA’s
Fall Parents Weekend.
Harold John
Zurlo
The guest of honor for the
event is MMA Alumnus and RGV businessman Harold John Zurlo.
A native of Long Island, New York, the Zurlo family moved to
Weslaco, Texas in 1967, and Harold entered MMA, graduating
MMA Class of 1969; then matriculated to Texas A & I
University. In 1973, Harold married Harlingen native
Deborah Williams, and they have made the Rio Grande Valley
their home ever since. Harold earned licensure as Master
Electrician in 1975 and owns Zurlo’s All Electric, Inc., a
successful electrical contracting business based out of
Weslaco, Texas. Harold remains active in his posts as
President of Zurlo’s All Electric, Inc. and Zurlo
Properties, Inc. Other posts include Past-President of Mid
Valley Elementary School Board and MMA Alumni Association,
and…in the true spirit of a “Corvette aficionado”…is an
active member of the Valley Corvette Club. Harold and his
wife Deborah have two sons--Harold James, age 26, now
married and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard; and Bryan, age
22, graduate of MMA’s Class of 2003 and Midwestern State
University’s Class of 2006. In his leisure time Harold
enjoys fishing in the Laguna Madre Bay with his family.
Harold will join MMA President Brigadier General Stephen A.
Cheney, USMC (Ret) as Reviewing Officers for MMA’s 42nd
Birthday Ball Parade held Saturday, November 3rd,
10 a.m., on MMA Parade Grounds. The event is open to the
public—bleacher seating is limited and lawn chairs are
welcomed.
The weekend event brings over
1,000 cadets’ parents, family, and friends of the Academy
from approximately 30 different states and several foreign
countries to the Rio Grande Valley each year. A Silent
Auction begins on Friday, November 2nd and
concludes on Saturday, November 3rd. There’ll be
ample photographic opportunities throughout the weekend
beginning with the parade on Saturday at 10 a.m., followed
Saturday evening by a formal reception and military ball,
complete with a traditional cake-cutting ceremony and the
revered mother-son dance.
Scheduled activities for the
weekend include:
Friday
8:35 Morning Colors Formation in front of
MMA’s Coleman Hall
8:50 a.m.
to
12:05 p.m. Academic Open House
7
p.m. Homecoming Football Game versus University
of Tamaulipas
Saturday
10
a.m. MMA Corps of Cadets Parade
5:30
p.m. Reception at MMA Neuhaus Mess Hall
8:30
p.m. Birthday Ball Ceremony commencement in MMA’s
Florence King Athletic Center
MMA extends
an invitation to all media to attend any of the weekend
activities.
The Marine
Military Academy, founded in 1965, is the only college
preparatory school in the country based on the customs and
traditions of the United States Marine Corps. This year,
over 320 cadets from 29 different states and 7 foreign
countries enrolled in grades 8 through 12 (with one year for
postgraduate study). To learn more about Marine Military
Academy, visit the school’s website located at:
www.mma-tx.org.
If
you have any questions, please feel free to call Debbie
Wieland, Public Affairs Officer, at (956) 421-9235 or e-mail
at:
wieland@mma-tx.org.
