Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Central Kansas Chapter of AUSA on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 245
Rich Jankovich, president of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Fort Riley-Central Kansas Chapter, discusses the organization's mission and Fort Riley's significant economic impact on the Manhattan area. Despite being less visible than Kansas State University, Fort Riley contributes approximately $4 billion annually to the local economy, representing about 47% of the region's total economic benefit compared to K-State's 23-25%.
• AUSA serves as "the voice of the Army," supporting active duty, Reserve, National Guard, veterans, and military families
• The Fort Riley-Central Kansas Chapter benefits from unique partnerships with both the Manhattan and Junction City Chambers of Commerce
• AUSA membership is open to everyone regardless of military service background
• Fort Riley houses approximately 40,000-45,000 people, with many military families choosing to stay in the community during deployments
• Black Tie Tactical, AUSA's signature program, provides formal wear, transition clothing, and professional development seminars for military spouses
• Upcoming Chipotle fundraiser on October 8th from 5-9 PM will donate 25% of proceeds when customers mention AUSA
• The AUSA National Convention happens October 11-13 in Washington, DC
• Membership options include free two-year memberships or paid memberships currently at half-price for the Army's 250th birthday
For those interested in getting involved, email prezfortriley@ausa.org or visit ausa.org to join.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. Ready to go? Is that our turn? It is because you know, when Rich Jankovich steps into the studio, I get distracted because we're longtime buddies and we just we talk. Okay, so let's get serious here on the GMCF Community Hour about what you and I are here to talk about today.
Speaker 2:Okay, let's get serious. Congratulations on your wedding, thank you. It was beautiful and I got to tell you because Caroline and I obviously were there, but we went early to make sure we knew where to park. In my lifetime I had never been at the gardens ever.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 2:Really Never.
Speaker 1:That is a community treasure.
Speaker 2:No kidding. And we're walking around and my wife is a total plant person and boom, and I'm like how did we never come here? It just wasn't on our thing.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now that you know this, we're going to get you involved in a couple of things.
Speaker 2:Oh God, All you have to do is attend when they have some events.
Speaker 1:That's all you need to do I mean? There's organizations. They've got a friends group, they've got all kinds of things, but they've done a tremendous amount of work there over the last couple of years.
Speaker 2:I remember when the barn was burning, when it was still a hay barn.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I don't go that far back but yeah, so that's.
Speaker 2:but that's not what we're here, but it is congratulations and it was awesome. And I got to meet your bride and since you hit her from me for all those years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, you know how many, how many of those months were you in the hospital?
Speaker 2:Oh, just three, Just three. You know that was a whole year ago.
Speaker 1:I'm going to have you pull that mic up a little bit closer too, if you don't mind. Yeah, there. But yeah, we've had a lot going on. It's been a whirlwind for us and you know, there was a lot of people, a lot of very good friends that met her for the first time, and a lot of friends and family that met me for the first time too, so you know it was more joyous for people to meet her than it was for them to meet me, but that's okay. Okay, so let's roll to AUSA.
Speaker 2:AUSA is why we are here. What's AUSA? So, AUSA is the voice of the army, otherwise known as the Association of the United States Army, and it's not to be confused with USAA, although they are a national sponsor of USA. But we're an organization that supports the active duty Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, veterans, spouses, et cetera, across the planet. Basically, we have chapters all over the world. We just happen to be in region five and we're one of the oldest chapters in the organization.
Speaker 1:And what is the local chapter like?
Speaker 2:So the local chapter, it's a bunch of volunteers that have a passion for supporting our military and Fort Riley and we are the one ID at the same time, because they all they today, they all go together.
Speaker 2:That hopefully that doesn't change in the in the future, but it's always something that we have to be concerned with and we've seen that happen in the nineties when the, the division, reforgered to Germany for a number of years and came back in 2005-6, which we spent a lot of time working on together as we were elected officials a little bit later.
Speaker 2:But it's you know, what we do is we try and find ways to support remiss, to say that we are unique in that we have two tremendous partners in the Manhattan area chamber, in the Junction City area chamber of commerce, with the MRC soon to be relabeled and to make a little more robust, and the MAC in Junction City. So we have a lot of heavy lifting that we can do with some tremendous support, which is very unique within the chapters Because, as I talk to our other chapter presidents, especially in our region, but across the board, their chapters don't have the support of the Chambers of Commerce that we do here. Kansas City and Leavenworth are very different than we are and they are within my realm as I'm the state president also plus chapter president. So it's kind of unique that I get to serve kind of in two roles.
Speaker 1:I think one of the things that always surprised me about you you never served, Never. But you have had a lifetime interest in the military and that goes beyond the Army. Yes, Because you have a fascination for planes and you know, and Air Force and such.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my grandfather and great uncle, who were partners that founded the airport that's now the Gary Chicago Regional Airport, were both Army Air Corps. My grandfather flew Air Transport Command, flew the hump into China, did a lot of other things. My great uncle was a trainer pilot and a blanking on the airbase that was by Waco, but then he was transitioning to P-38s to go to the South Pacific when Japan surrendered. So it goes that far back. My uncle, my dad's older brother, was a SAC wing commander flying B-52s so I go back to you know that and getting to be on an airbase and him flying Operation Chrome Dome, which most people don't remember but we do from our days as grade school students when you did civil defense drills. You know, get under the desk when the atomic bomb is going to go off.
Speaker 1:Put your hands behind your head, like that was going to save us. You know, no kidding.
Speaker 2:But he, you know, we had B-52s in the air 24-7 over the Arctic Circle ready to go loaded with nuclear weapons. So you know we've lived through a lot of those things loaded with nuclear weapons. So you know, we've lived through a lot of those things. And and then through all that, and then my father's car dealership was Key Incorporated Key Pontiac first and Key Incorporated. You know, we did a lot of with the, with the soldiers always tried to do the right thing by them, and so you know it's it's one of those things where you appreciate what they have to go through.
Speaker 2:And then, obviously, when we both got elected, we became very popular with invitations and things on post and I became very close friends with people through that, and that's a way to serve, because my graduating class was the last one required to register and had a lottery but no draft, and so you know we had a choice. You know we could serve or not. I obviously chose not to. I always wanted to be a pilot and my eyesight said no, and so this is a way for me to give back to those that serve and put their life on the line on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:I think one thing that's neat about AUSA is that you don't have to be someone who has had a military background, to help be a part of that commitment to those families, those men and women that serve and their families, and that you realize also the value that they bring to our community, not just, you know, with these wonderful people that are serving our country Right, but you know there is a more than sizable economic impact that we have here, mostly locally from Fort Riley. But you know and you look across, you know from the state perspective, other communities have that as well.
Speaker 1:And so this is a great way for individuals who want to support Our men and women and their families.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and what people don't realize, especially here in Manhattan, and this is just the reality of it. We see the university as the driver of a lot of our driver. In reality, what the One ID and Fort Riley bring is about 47% of our total economic benefit comes from them. Give or take, 23% to 25% comes from the university. It's hard to believe but it's because you see people in purple all the time.
Speaker 2:You don't recognize the people in what is brought into the economic impact from Fort Riley. You have a city of itself sitting there that is about somewhere between 40 to 45,000 people. That also have additional folks that live in our communities. And I mean I go back to when I was growing up here during Vietnam, and they were not allowed off post in uniform, and now they can, and so you see them a little more regularly. But but now it's become commonplace and so you you have a different perspective of what that means. But during COVID, um, when the students somewhat disappeared from from our community and Fort Riley had to say you can't go to certain places, the impact was felt significantly.
Speaker 2:Never thought about that, and that was the first time that a lot of our merchants you can't go to certain places the impact was felt significantly. Never thought about that and that was the first time that a lot of our merchants and businesses realized that. What an impact they had because, oh, we'll be fine without the students here. Well, suddenly, no, it was very, very different. And so, as we look forward, we try to connect all the dots for people to make understanding and be as open as we can with what the, what we know that's happening at Fort Riley, so that there's going to be preparation for it.
Speaker 2:You know, next year is going to be interesting because there's going to be a lot of deployment. Good news not nine months or not a year or so in combat, but nine months at a time and lots of. We have the first brigade out right now. They'll come back. The division headquarters and DaVarti will go out, sustainment will go out, the cab will go out or combat aviation brigade and the second brigade will go out all next year at different times and there'll be coming back at different times. So the cycle will be different.
Speaker 2:But the difference now from when we were in heavy combat during the War on Terror is that the families tend to stay because the kids are in school. There's not a threat of obviously the worst possible, that kind of flows, with the division's motto and the no sacrifice too great. We all know what that means, and so the families are staying here. Our employment base is better than it was, you know, even 20 years ago when the division was coming back, so there's reasons for them to stay. We've integrated the families a lot more closely than we did before because they're here, they're where they like being here and there's a lot for them to do.
Speaker 1:You know what is it the number? I think that they say the economic impact that Fort Riley makes here locally is in what $2 billion $4 billion.
Speaker 2:$4 billion, $4 billion. Yeah, wow, yeah, hard to imagine, yeah, yeah. That's huge, but again, we focus on Purple. Every Saturday at Bill Snyder family stadium, 60,000 people, or whatever the stadium holds. Well, that that's a one day or a couple of days and this is every day.
Speaker 2:This is the people that have jobs at Fort Riley, that have the companies that support the mission of Fort Riley, that do all the things that they do, that have people living in our communities. All of that Plus, they shop off post. They aren't just going to the commissary, the PX, they are coming in to our grocery stores, to our department stores, to our local businesses to get their cars fixed, to get their hair cut, to get their hair done for those that go to a salon versus a barber. All those things add up and that's what people don't realize, because when they come in they're probably not in uniform, they're probably in civilian clothes, and so you don't realize what they do. And it's all important.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a bit about a fundraiser. You have coming up working with Chipotle.
Speaker 2:So part of what we need to do because we are a nonprofit to support some of the missions is find ways to raise money, and we are doing our first fundraiser since I've been president and I think really since Art DeGroat was the president they did the yellow ribbon thing during the War on Terror we're having a fundraiser at Chipotle on October 8th, from 5 to 9. Chipotle on October 8th, from 5 to 9. When you go in to get your meal, just mention that you're part of AUSA and they will donate 25% of the proceeds of that evening and we're hoping for a big turnout.
Speaker 1:We have put the word out as much as we can and this is one of the venues we get to do that with and the date on that again.
Speaker 2:October 8th. Then Chipotle is in Aggieville. The good news is the construction isn't where they are, it's behind it. So it's pretty easy to get to and from and they have their own parking lot. And they do have their own parking lot. But you can order online and when you go to pick up you just make sure that they know what it's about.
Speaker 1:One of the things you and I got to venture out on as we went to DC a couple of times. We were both in elected capacities to go to the AUSA National Convention, Correct? What a wonderful opportunity.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's coming up. I will head out on October 10th that will be it's always over the well what we would call Columbus Day and whatever the day is. Now that I'm not sure that it's still a day, but it's considered Indigenous People's Day. Thank you, I didn't want to go the wrong direction there, but it's really a three-day event that technically starts on Sunday, the 11th, and they have the Army 10-Miler and we have a HUA tent that the McCormick Foundation is sponsoring for us, and then 1ID is bringing in a lot of assets to promote that.
Speaker 2:And then we have the opening ceremony, which is one of those things that just tears at your heart. It's an amazing ceremony. On Monday and then right after that we have our chapter social. We have uh the commanding general speaking at, and then also a former um uh, one of, I think, second brigade CSM who is now 54th artillery CSM, ricky Jackson, who's going to transition to uh the space command, coming up in March, and then as speakers, and then on Tuesday we go on the Hill. We do it differently than when you and I were there. We meet with all of the the congressional delegation staffers in one shot instead of going office to office to office, which makes it a lot more conducive for us to be able to do that and not where everybody else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot. And then that evening, on Tuesday evening, is the chapter social, where we invite all the 1ID alumni to come and socialize with us, and then some friends of the 1ID as well. And then Wednesday morning is our region breakfast, that the Region 5, which is the region that we're in, has a breakfast. The SMA and the Army Weimer will be our keynote speaker there. So it's a really, really fun and busy and important time for us to be on the Hill because we get to speak directly to, especially for us, and then we get a briefing from Baker Donaldson, who's our lobbyist on Monday afternoon after the chapter lunch and we get a much, much deeper dive into what's going on for all military, because even though we are Army, we do represent the state in various capacities, and so it's Army first and then we do all the other services as well, and because the veteran side of it is what we have to be.
Speaker 2:And you can be a member of AUSA whether you served or not, whether you were Navy, marine, coast Guard, air Force or Army, so it's, you know we're inclusive that way, or civilian, or so that's right If you didn't serve and were a full civilian yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just reinforced that, that's all.
Speaker 2:I just put it in one word. That's okay, you can do that.
Speaker 1:Exactly, yeah, we got just a couple of minutes left here. Other efforts that the Local AUSA chapter is involved in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know, we have what I call our signature sponsorship, which is Black Tie Tactical. It's a fully, fully donated, volunteer run organization. On Fort Riley. We just moved from the original location on the hill down to the historic portion of the post. We're in the process of remodeling the area that we were able to occupy, but it's all about formal wear, transition clothing, clothing, some military wear, as well as some seminars on interviewing, ball behavior, ball etiquette for the military spouses, excuse me especially and that will. We've started the renovation period.
Speaker 2:Tony Pablo, who's on my board, and I went out yesterday and moved a lot of the furniture that had to remain into a secure area and now they're able to come in, as the other team will come in and begin the cleaning, the painting, setting it all up, and hopefully I'm guessing we'll be up and fully operational probably by I'm guessing middle of October, maybe just a little bit later, but that's soon to come.
Speaker 2:We also support all the JROTCs from Topeka West, so it's Topeka West, junction City, garden City and Wichita Public Schools, as well as the ROTC for K-State and Wichita State, because they fall, even though they are a Pittsburgh State affiliate, they fall within our umbrella of the state of our chapter. So we fully support them. And then we also have some other things that we're working on that I can't really talk about yet because we haven't fully established those, but we've got a what I call our game plan. But our annual plan has some very specific things to do, also trying to recruit new community partners. We actually added nine new in the last couple of months, which is the most we've ever added that I can remember, and so hopefully that's that we can continue that momentum as well.
Speaker 1:How can people get involved?
Speaker 2:So there's a couple of ways. One, you can email me at either prezfortriley at ausaorg, or you can email me at rbjankovic at gmailcom. Also, you can go to the AUSA website, ausaorg, and you can join. That way, there's some tremendous benefits to being a member. You can become a free member that lasts for two years and you still get all the member benefits, or you can join as a full member. There's a little bit more that comes with it, which is the Army Magazine and some other things, and there is a price for that. But right now it's all half price. So you can be a two-year, four-year or lifetime member at half price, because we're celebrating the Army 250th birthday, which is this year, as well as AUSA's 75th anniversary. So this year is a big, big celebration. It will be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:Reg Jankovich is his name. He's here on behalf of the Central Kansas chapter of the AUSA, or the Fort Riley Central Kansas chapter. Thanks for joining us, bud Good to see you.
Speaker 2:Good, looking forward to the next time.
Speaker 1:All right Back with the final segment of the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMN after this break.