Local video production company tours Fort Leavenworth, CGSC

Leadership of Kansas City-based video production company “Wide Awake Films” visited Fort Leavenworth on April 12 for a “walk and talk” tour of Fort Leavenworth and the Command and General Staff College.

From left, Ed Leydecker, Julia Barnett, Keith Johnson, and Shane Seley from Wide Awake Films in Kansas City, take a group photo in the “MacArthur Room” in the Lewis and Clark Center during their walk and talk tour in April 2018.

The company participated in the Foundation’s “Walk and Talk” program on the recommendation of Foundation trustee Mary O’Connor. O’Connor has previously worked with Wide Awake Films and felt that with their excellent storytelling skills they could possibly assist the Foundation in a future project. At a minimum, the company would join the ranks of the hundreds of other walk and talk participants in learning about the history of Fort Leavenworth and CGSC which isn’t well known even in the local Kansas City metro area. The group included company founder Shane Seley, owner/producer Ed Leydecker, producer Julia Barnett, and creative director Keith Johnson.

During the tour, the group learned the story of how Colonel Henry Leavenworth established the Fort in 1827, ignoring orders to build a cantonment on the east side of the river, after realizing it made more sense to be on the west side, high on the bluffs overlooking the river. As their tour bus followed those bluffs, the group had the chance to see the old historic brick homes on Fort Leavenworth, including the former home of General MacArthur, which is the oldest continually inhabited home in Kansas. Next they passed by the old disciplinary barracks, which now houses a café and gift shop as well as the simulations lab, and the monuments of General Grant and the Buffalo Soldiers.

After the tour of the post, the group arrived at the Lewis and Clark Center, home of the Command and General Staff College. In the Lewis and Clark Center the group had a chance to see firsthand the world-class facility with 96 high tech classrooms where approximately 1,200 officers are educated each year. The group toured the Commander-in-Chief hallway, learned about the international military student program; viewed the gifts of art and other objects the College receives from the international students and others; walked through the Fort Leavenworth Hall of Fame; and visited a classroom visit to learn about the class organization, the students and the rigorous curriculum they participate in each year. The Hall of Fame display was particularly interesting to the group since it includes several Civil War-era generals that relate to their work with the Civil War Trust, a charitable organization that works to preserve battlegrounds.

Seley, the founder of Wide Awake Films, stated that the tour did “blow him away” and that he hoped to help the Foundation tell the story of the College and Fort Leavenworth in a future project.

Wide Awake Films, located in downtown Kansas City, is a full-service video production studio that handles all of their clients needs including concept, script writing, cinematography, editing, video animation and even virtual reality. For more information visit www.wideawakefilms.com.

Contact Joan Cabell, the CGSC Foundation director of development, to schedule your own group’s “Walk and Talk” tour of CGSC and Fort Leavenworth and learn about the education of leaders for the nation. – joan@cgscf.org.