On April 21st, 2013, the Institute staff participated in the annual Month of the Military Child Festival at Fort Riley. At this event we gave train rides to over 400 children, gave out around 200 packets of information about the Institute, additional material to assist military families and Welcome Home Garden seed packets provided by Burpee Seed Company. It was a great day to spend outside and, as you can see from the pictures, was a fun time for kids and adults!
In June 2013, we were invited to Marineland, FL to partner for the very first Marineland Military Support Retreat. Briana Goff and Kali (Orrick) Summers attended from the Institute. Similar to the Flint Hills Retreat held by the Institute in October 2011, the retreat consisted of 16 Veteran and Caregiver pairs, which included not only Service Members/Veterans, but their primary caregiver as well, including spouses and parents. The participants included both Veterans (who had all served post 9/11 and were from Northeast Florida) and Active Service members from all branches of the military. The purpose of the retreat was to “promote community based non-profit integrative intensive retreats for service members and their primary support persons and to inspire long-term plans to create a wellness/healing restoration center for military personnel in the Town of Marineland.”
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Story By K-State Communications and Marketing
Kansas State University and the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley renewed their partnership Wednesday afternoon August 28, 2013, in an on-campus signing ceremony. The partnership is the first and only comprehensive military-to-university institutional partnership.
About 30 leaders from each institution represented Kansas State University and the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley at the ceremony, which took place at the K-State Alumni Center. The ceremony marked the fourth partnership renewal since 2008.
“One of our goals within the K-State 2025 plan is to expand our recognition as a top military-inclusive university,” said Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz. “This latest renewal of our partnership with Fort Riley is a crucial part in becoming a Top 50 public research university by 2025. The partnership will help us continue providing services and programs to meet the needs of our students, soldiers and community.”
The 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley Commanding General Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk II said it is also one of the objectives of the nation’s first division.
“Strengthening, building and nurturing our exclusive partnerships, with both our community and the university, are essential to meet the goal set forth in our 2020 Campaign Plan and what continues to make the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley a great place to come home to,” Funk said.
A formal institutional partnership between Kansas State University and the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley was first established by Jon Wefald, former president of Kansas State University, and Maj. Gen. Robert E. Durbin, former 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general, in April 2008. The agreement was designed to serve as a model military-to-university institutional partnership.
Retired Lt. Col. Art DeGroat, the university’s director of military affairs and principal administrator of this program, stated that the latest partnership renewal sets the following objectives:
• Serve as a model military-to-university institutional partnership
• Leverage our diverse cultures to develop alternate ideas and improved approaches to challenges of mutual interest, focusing on the areas of professional development, quality of life, transition and family well-being and resiliency
• Organize, support and participate in innovative opportunities and programs to serve our constituent communities and teams
• Improve the efficiency of our resource stewardship, management and sustainment through cooperation to the extent permitted by law and regulation
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