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A Madison engagement

Scott Noon ('94) tells the particulars of his engagement to Tori Reinhold ('95) on Madison's campus

By Maj. Scott Noon

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Maj. Scott Noon ('94) and Tori Reinhold Noon ('95) were engaged on JMU's campus and have been married for 12 years

In response to Madison's request for stories from folks who got engaged on JMU's campus, Scott Noon ('94) wrote with the particulars of his engagement to Tori Reinhold ('95).

Dear Madison Staff:

I'm currently an Army major (JMU ROTC) in Khowst Province, Afghanistan, with the 82nd Airborne Division. My wife of 12 years Tori Reinhold Noon, ('95) sent me Madison in a care package a few weeks ago.

I thought I would share our engagement story that took place on the JMU campus over Christmas break, December 1994.

Tori and I got to know each other when I was running for Honor Council president and she was running for vice president. Although I was hesitant to start a relationship with a future "co-worker," we started dating in April 1993, toward the end of my junior year.

I was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant in May 1994, went to Fort Benning, Ga., for initial officer training, and was scheduled to start Ranger School in January 1995. Tori was a senior who would return for her final semester of student teaching prior to graduating in May.

During Christmas break, we drove from Virginia Beach to the Harrisonburg area for an outing we had scheduled.

I was not known as a spontaneous kind of guy, and my good friends had told Tori that I was really focused on Ranger School and not to expect any "significant changes" in the next several months.

I surmised that I had the perfect opportunity to surprise Tori: I would make everything appear normal, let her find the ring and ask "the question."

I told Tori that I just wanted to take a walk around campus as I hadn't been there for several months. Having just left the week before, she wasn't really enthusiastic about my request -- she just wanted to get to our destination. Nonetheless, I proceeded with my plot and turned the car on to Bluestone Drive.

Scott and Tori Noon and their three boys enjoying the beach

Scott and Tori Noon and their three boys enjoying the beach

I had planned that I would ask her to retrieve my gloves from a jacket in the back seat of my car at which time she would discover the ring. I hadn't planned on the uncharacteristically warm December day, which made a jacket and gloves totally unnecessary. As we drove past the stadium, D-Hall and up to the Bluestones, I grew increasingly nervous. I pulled into the parking lot behind Converse, Harrison and Gifford Hall, and I parked the car. Just as I had feared, when I asked Tori to grab my jacket, she said, "Why do you need it?" She proceeded to get out of the car, which further disintegrated my plan.

My contingency planning was limited, and I was forced to grab the jacket myself and move over to her side of the car. She knew something was up as I wasn't acting quite right. I began to totally bumble, pulled the ring out, and bent down on one knee right there in the parking lot. I don't really think I got the words out, but Tori knew what I was trying to say and thankfully agreed to my pseudo-proposal.

It wasn't the most romantic spot on campus, and it didn't go exactly as planned. Still, I had wanted the proposal to be on the JMU campus, and I had wanted it to be a surprise -- mission accomplished.

We were married Nov. 25, 1995, and now have three boys ages 7, 3 and 2. We couldn't be happier with our Madison Experience, the fact that we met, and what it meant to both of our lives.

Keep up the great publication! Go Dukes!

Scott Noon ('94)