Photo By Sgt. Michael Roach | Retired Lt. Gen. Perry L. Wiggins, executive director of Governor’s Military Council...... read more read more
Subscribe
The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council and the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Military Relations Committee hosted the Joint MAC/MRC Breakfast for community, business and military leaders of the Flint Hills Region at the Riley’s Conference Center on Fort Riley, Kansas, Jan. 26.
“The whole idea of this is to bring the military and the business community together,” said Dennis Beson, president and CEO of JCACC.
Retired Col. John Seitz, military affairs director for the JCACC, and Janet Nichols, military community liaison for the MACC, helped organize the event and took turns serving as master of ceremonies.
Retired Lt. Gen. Perry L. Wiggins, executive director of the Governor’s Military Council and former 1st Infantry Division commanding general, spoke to the crowd about the council’s efforts improve and grow military assets in Kansas.
“It is a great honor to be a part of this particular council and be a part of your military community here in the state of Kansas,” Wiggins said. “Now, just recently I had an opportunity to convene the first Governor’s Military Council that I was able to be executive director for … and it did my heart good as we were able to really identify some issues, some challenges, but, more importantly some things that we can get out and get after as a council to improve the seven lines of effort the governor has put in place for our council to improve here in the state of Kansas.”
Wiggins emphasized the importance of the council as it pertains to the military’s impact on the Flint Hills Region and the necessity of the military and the community coming together to support one another.
“You are the greatest military on this earth because you serve the greatest nation on this earth, don’t ever forget that,” Wiggins said to the Soldiers and community members present. “After 9/11 we built our installations like Fort Knox. Some of you had to get vetted before you came on post; that makes life hard. And you remember a time when you could just drive right on to post and enjoy all the amenities, so we always have to remember those that are in uniform and we have got to make sure that we bend over backwards. Because, if we lose touch with our communities, we lose touch with ourselves.”
Wiggins also stressed the importance of quality of life initiatives by the Governor’s Military Council; a broader effort to help entice service members to remain in Kansas after leaving the military.
“Things that will make Kansas a place where Soldiers want to call ‘home,’” Wiggins said. “The values that the Army holds dear are the same values that Kansas holds dear.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2017 11:26 |
| Story ID: | 221622 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Community leaders gather at Joint MAC/MRC Breakfast, by SGT Michael Roach, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT