Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri – January 30, 2023 – Mayor Dr. George Lauritson of the City of St. Robert was recently selected as a 2023 Defense Community Champion by the Association of Defense Communities. He is one of 17 selected from across the country this year.

Defense Community Champions represent a wide range of leaders who, in different ways, are all committed to serving their local installations and improving the lives of service members and their families.

Mayor Lauritson served successfully as the Chairman of the Fort Leonard Wood (FLW) Region’s Sustainable Ozarks Partnership (SOP) from August 2017 to August 2022. The SOP’s accomplishments are in large part attributed to Mayor Lauritson’s leadership, including improvements in the areas of partnerships that support FLW’s mission success; military family quality of life, infrastructure resiliency, regional transportation access, regional healthcare; quality of public education; military spouse and transitioning service member employment initiatives.

Lauritson was responsible for creating two iterations of the organization’s three year strategic plan that formalized and focused the region’s support for FLW, service members and families.

The most recent noteworthy accomplishment is the completion of a regional military spouse employment needs assessment survey. Information gathered from military connected spouses (active duty, retirees, veterans, guard/reserve, and all branches) is now being used to analyze and communicate the qualifications, experiences, needs, and preferences of the region’s military spouses. Survey findings were shared with state and local leaders, military officials, and other stakeholders who are working together to increase employment and career opportunities for military spouses across the region.

He also led our community to receive one of the first Army Community Partnership awards from the Under Secretary of the Army. The award recognized FLW and SOP for success in strengthening installation readiness and resilience through the interconnection of water resources between the installation and the city of St. Robert. This partnership provides reciprocal backup water supplies during emergency situations improving water resiliency and enhancing installation readiness.

Outstanding leadership is the lesson best learned from Mayor Lauritson’s story. His unparalleled leadership and direct involvement in the region’s defense community support organization has set the example for other locally elected leaders across the country.

“Mayor Lauritson has demonstrated that engaged leadership can shape strategic planning that formalizes and focuses a region’s support for military installations, service members and military families. He has shown us all how a Mayor of a small rural town outside of a world class Army training installation in the heart of America can galvanize a four-county region’s support for national defense. He has ensured that our communities remain grounded in the belief that everything we endeavor to do with our military partners is done under the premise that it must first and foremost be in the best interest of the Department of Defense. He leads our community in understanding that ultimately these things can then mutually benefit the Army, FLW, Missouri, and our communities respectively,” said SOP Executive Director Dorsey Newcomb.

The Sustainable Ozarks Partnership is building on the Fort Leonard Wood Region’s strong past and preparing the region for a healthy, resilient future. We are a nonprofit organization working to bring all of the region’s stakeholders to the table to drive regional development and advocate for new or expanded military and federal missions, all as part of our efforts to strengthen the Fort Leonard Wood region.

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