Leaning forward



Leaning forward

In my previous column I told you that I would talk about some of our new programs for 2016 that the Foundation will be sponsoring or co-sponsoring with other organizations. We are pleased to be able to present what has become our “standard fare” including the Hyrum Smith talk to the class on Jan. 26, the 7th Annual Ethics Symposium, Awards for Academic Excellence at graduation, and our “7 Habits of Highly Successful Military Families” Workshops. We continue to provide ongoing support to the College for the Resiliency courses and for the Youth Reading Programs at the Ike Skelton CARL. These programs have stood the test of time and we’re looking forward to improving them each time we provide the support. Your feedback can help us make them better.

In 2016 we have three new programs that we are putting together to support our mission. The first up is the Women’s Conference, which we will conduct on March 2-3 at the Frontier Conference Center. The Women’s Conference is open to all female, active duty Soldiers, U.S. and international military spouses, government employees and contractors associated with Fort Leavenworth. The WClogo-reg-buttonpurpose is to provide an event that will offer information and classes of subjects that are of interest to women. The theme of the conference is: Inspire! Educate! Motivate!  We have been fortunate to have a number of generous sponsors for the event including our presenting sponsors Armed Forces Insurance and Reilly and Sons Insurance, both of Leavenworth; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Advantage Printing; DeMaranville and Associates, CPA; and the Leavenworth Yoga Co-op. Registration is ongoing until Feb. 13. There is a small charge for attending, but the evening of March 2 and all day March 3, should prove interesting and rewarding. We’d love to see you join us, you can register right here on our website.

Our second new program is a partnership with the Vietnam Commemoration Commission members of Fort Leavenworth – the garrison and the College, as well as the Henry Leavenworth Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), to conduct a VietnamLogo_50th_Circle_3-27-12 Finalthree-year series of lectures focusing on the Vietnam War. As you know, it was fifty years ago last November that the first major combat between U.S. and North Vietnamese forces took place in the Ia Drang Valley. The Class of 2015 gift to CGSC was an original oil painting depicting that battle. It was 40 years ago last April that Saigon fell and the Vietnam Commemoration Commission, a national level organization of more than 4,000 members, is dedicated to commemorating our Armed Forces and their participation in that lengthy conflict. We are in support of the Department of Military History which will be conducting up to four extra-curricular lectures per year, for the next three years, to help us not only highlight the contributions of our military, but also to learn the lessons of that war so that we can hopefully not repeat previous mistakes as we face today’s very dangerous world. We will be hosting the first lecture discussing the root causes of the war and why the U.S. became involved at the Riverfront Community Center in Leavenworth on the evening of March 23. As part of this lecture, the garrison commander will be recognizing our Vietnam veterans with a national lapel pin and helping give them thanks from a grateful nation for their service. Look for more information on this program in the very near future, including what we’re planning as a permanent remembrance here at the Lewis and Clark Center.

…Our goal is to have a corporate leader or business owner give us a “What keeps me up at night” issue or challenge they are facing…

Finally, we are initiating leadership programs that we hope will support the College as well as provide leader development insights for industry. We received a very generous grant from the Flint Hills Resources Corporation of Wichita, Kansas, to initiate these programs as well as to support the Executive Leadership Summit that we will co-host with the University of Kansas this fall. Our first program will be a series of “CEO Roundtables” with students this spring. Our goal is to have a corporate leader or business owner give us a “What keeps me up at night” issue or challenge they are facing. The Foundation will be asking for volunteer staff groups that want to spend two hours or so with these business leaders discussing the topic. We believe it will give our students greater insight to the nature of leadership problems in general and it will clearly showcase to the business leaders the excellence of our students and the clarity of their problem solving capabilities. Be looking for more information on this program. We have asked the CEO of Flint Hills Resources, Inc., as well as the CEO of Casey’s General Stores, to be our inaugural participants in the program.

As I’ve said numerous times, the Foundation is small but we’re very busy. We are trying to meet our mission of enhancing the education of leaders of character and competence for service to the nation. I look forward to seeing you at our programs and I look forward to your feedback. Let me know how we’re doing.

Doug Tystad
Chief Executive Officer
CGSC Foundation, Inc.

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