CGSC Foundation honors major donors

The board of trustees of the Command and General Staff College Foundation (CGSCF) recently conducted two dinner engagements in honor of those who have supported the Foundation’s mission. The first was conducted in the Kansas City Club on April 16 and the second was in Washington, D.C., April 23.“Our major donor dinners were to recognize individuals who have contributed more than $1,000 in the past year,” said retired Col. Bob Ulin, the CGSCF chief executive officer. “Companies and corporations we honored made contributions of $5,000 or more.”

The guest speaker at the Kansas City dinner was Lt. Gen. Roger G. Thompson, U.S. Army, Ret., the Vice President for Membership of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA). In addition to the Kansas City area major donors, attendees included representatives from the staff and faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College who were on hand to help educate donors about the roles and mission of the College.

A surprise guest at the Washington, D.C. dinner was Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of Multinational Force Iraq. He was back from Baghdad to brief President Bush and appear before congressional committees. He praised the efforts of the CGSCF and noted the importance of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in its role to prepare leaders for the challenges of the 21st century.

Also in attendance at the D.C. dinner were Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) and Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS) from the 2nd District in Kansas, which includes Forts Leavenworth and Riley. The guest speaker for the evening was Hyrum Smith, former chairman of the Franklin-Quest Company, author of several books and a widely sought after speaker. Smith is a trustee of the CGSC Foundation and was recently nominated to become the foundation’s vice president.

As part of the program at the D.C. dinner, Gen. Carl E. Vuono, U.S. Army, Ret., a former CGSC Commandant and Army Chief of Staff as well as current member of AUSA’s Council of Trustees and the CGSCF Board of Trustees, presented the Foundation with a $35,000 check from AUSA. According to Ulin this donation from AUSA was indicative of the great support the Foundation has received from its major donors. Ulin said contributed support to the CGSC Foundation has more than doubled from this time last year.

“We’ve made enormous progress in our effort to build the infrastructure of our foundation in a relatively short period of time,” Ulin said. “Our short term goal is to build a substantial endowment that will provide predictable and sustainable support to the College. Our long term goal is to help the College become a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for Leader Development.”

The CGSC Foundation was established December 28, 2005 as a tax-exempt, non-profit private corporation. Programs supported by the Foundation include awards for the students and faculty, support for symposia, conferences, lectures, and community outreach activities that help connect the American people to their Army. For more information about the Foundation and how to become involved, visit www.cgscf.org.