On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, over 235 Fort Leonard Wood Region business and community leaders, elected officials, and senior uniformed and civilian Army leaders gathered at The Ark in Waynesville, Mo. to reflect on the collaborative effort to support Fort Leonard Wood (FLW), service members, military families, and the FLW.

Keynote speaker Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Environment, and Energy Rachel Jacobson provided insight into how defense communities can best work to support Army installations, like FLW. Jacobson spent time during her remarks specifically speaking about the importance of how FLW’s commitment to energy and environment conservation supports the Army’s goals and mission and how the region can work together with the Army in the future.

“We want to have a common understanding of vulnerabilities and work together to make sure we share in response efforts; to make sure we share in data…that knowledge sharing through private public partnerships with particular public utilities where we share in understanding the vulnerabilities and addressing them – those are good examples of how we can support each other,” said Jacobson.

Created to support the Army’s efforts and Fort Leonard Wood, the FLW Community Partnership Leadership Committee (FLWCP) meets quarterly and is co-chaired by the FLW garrison commander and SOP executive director. The committee is the structured process that brings community and Army partners together to pursue mutually beneficial partnerships that range from the most formal intergovernmental support agreements to memorandums of understanding and/or agreements.

“We continue to work to improve regional quality of life, reduce overall operational costs, create efficiencies, and enhance FLW’s resilience and mission success. Our region and our state are very proud of our demonstrated commitment to national defense,” said SOP Executive Director Dorsey Newcomb.                  

Governor Mike Parson, Senator Roy Blunt, Senator Josh Hawley, Representative Vicky Hartzler, and Major General James Bonner also delivered messages during event. Their remarks addressed FLW’s impact on the state, partnerships with the Army, FLW’s role in support of national defense, and the future of our military. 

“The momentum that continues to grow in support for FLW was evidenced by the record setting attendance and strongest line up of speakers to date for our annual meeting. We are very proud of the strong and enduring partnerships we have with FLW and the unparalleled support we receive from our stakeholders across the region, as well as at the state and federal levels,” said Newcomb.

Presentation slides from this year’s meeting will be available on the SOP website soon: www.sustainableozarks.org.

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.

###