In 1992, Lexington High School, Rockbridge High School, and Natural Bridge High School combined to create Rockbridge County High School. In the 32 years since its creation, RCHS has changed staff, renovated buildings, and while a multitude of traditions have come and gone, one face has remained a constant.
David Miller began working at RCHS as an assistant basketball coach and an alternative learning teacher. Before that, Miller was a teacher at the Natural Bridge Learning Center. Then in 1994, Miller joined the football coaching staff where he would remain while simultaneously coaching tennis for several years.
Over the years, Miller took on even more work becoming the athletic director, the golf coach, and teaching math. Finally in 2011, Miller became the online classes teacher where he would remain until this year. After almost 33 years, Miller is retiring to sunny South Carolina where.
“I plan to play some golf and do some fishing,” Miller said.
As Miller prepares to leave, he reflects on how the school was when it was first constructed.
“We had to put three schools together that had been playing against each other since they were kids. The first couple years was just trying to get everybody to get along, especially athletically, since they had been pounding on each other in football the last zillion years. The first couple years were pretty wild at times, but it was fun, ” Miller said.
Miller also commented on what he will miss the most about this school.
“All the students. I mean, that’s the only reason I did this. I always enjoyed my classes and my coaching. It kept me young, kept me going, and it was one of the reasons why I stayed this long,” Miller said.
Miller will be missed by both students and staff.
World History teacher Sarah Mast has been working at RCHS for four years.
“He always brings a lot of fun and a lot of humor. He just brightens your day. He’ll definitely be missed for sure,” Mast said.
Chris McGrath is the physics, pre-Calc, Calculus, and Academic Team coach. He described his partnership with Miller over the years.
“This is my 18th year here and Weenie Miller was the athletic director when I started here. I became the coach of the Academic Team the first year that I was hired. He was a big part of me stepping into that role successfully. He’s a great guy to work with. He’s just very friendly, very outgoing, very much goes out of his way to make people feel comfortable,” McGrath said.
Junior Finbar Looney is a golf player and played for Miller’s team for two years.
“He just brought the spirit of the team up really high. If one of us had a bad round, you would get on the bus and he would just say something and no matter what happened, you could have played your worst round ever, and you’d instantly be happy. He lights up a room. He’s really funny. I’m going to miss him,” Looney said.
David “Weenie” Miller has been a cherished member of the RCHS community and it is very bittersweet to see him go. We all will miss him but look forward to his retirement and hope he enjoys the fruits of his many years of hard work.
