Hello.  My name is Gary Hollins and it is a real pleasure and a real honor to be a part of the Union Academy staff.  I am looking forward to the challenges and to the experience of working with the students here.  I am originally from Virginia and I graduated from the University of Virginia.  I am a devout Jeffersonian and Constitutionalist. This will be my 43rd year teaching students.  I have taught in public, parochial, and private schools.  I have also worked as a Clinical-Instructor with the University of Virginia and with the Blue Ridge Consortium of colleges and universities.  I have coached Cross Country and Track and Field for over twenty-five years, serving as the Head Field Judge for the NCHSAA 1A State Track and Field Meet.   My teaching experiences have taken me from Central Virginia, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to Western North Carolina, to Upstate South Carolina, and, now, to Union Academy.  My wife, Lisa, and I are looking forward to establishing roots in the Charlotte area.  I still enjoy running, reading, and writing. I am very passionate about the importance of teaching citizenship and patriotism to our students.  They are, indeed, the future of our country and they need to understand and to appreciate the responsibilities of being an American citizen.