Leaders with U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy attended the 63rd annual Tomah Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet on Feb. 23 in Tomah, Wis.
Fort McCoy Deputy Garrison Commander helped provide opening comments for the event that saw nearly 300 attendees.
According to a Facebook post by the Tomah Chamber organizers, the event went well.
"This year, we gathered at the Cranberry Country Lodge, where Wetlands Catering treated us to an exquisite meal featuring cilantro lime chicken breast and rosemary encrusted tenderloin, complemented by exceptional service from the wait staff.
"Laughter filled the room as Comedian Johnny Beehner delivered a performance that left everyone in stitches with his hilarious and oh-so-relatable stories about family life," the post states. "Special appreciation goes out to the members of the Executive Committee Board, Fort McCoy installation, and other supporters who played a starring role throughout the evening. A huge thank you also goes out to the ALL-STAR volunteers who contributed their time to make the celebration possible."
Community outreach is an important part of the Army mission. According to the Army, as stated at https://www.army.mil/outreach, “the Army is about more than ensuring our national security at home and abroad, it’s about giving back and getting to know the communities that support us.”
It’s also possibly important for community leaders to hear from the installation that provides a significant economic impact to their communities.
Fort McCoy’s total economic impact for fiscal year (FY) 2024 was an estimated $1.6 billion, Fort McCoy Garrison officials announced, which is up from FY 2023’s total impact of $1.38 billion. The data was compiled by Fort McCoy’s Plans, Analysis and Integration Office.
Workforce payroll, operating costs, and other expenditures totaled more than $398 million for FY 2024. A total of 1,934 personnel worked at Fort McCoy in FY 2024 — 1,061 civilians, 495 military, and 378 contract employees.
Approximately 66 percent of the workforce lives within Monroe County. The total FY 2024 workforce payroll for civilian and military personnel was $270.4 million.
FY 2024 operating costs of $170 million included utilities, physical plant maintenance, repair and improvements, new construction projects, purchases of supplies and services, as well as salaries for civilian contract personnel working at Fort McCoy.
Other expenditures accounted for $21.2 million and covered $511,296 in payments to local governments (including land permit agreements, school district impact aid, etc.) as well as $20.7 million in discretionary spending in local communities by service members training and residing at Fort McCoy.
Fort McCoy will continue to support these monthly meetings as well as other community events and meetings.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”