Building Great Communities for Our Military

By Barbara  Bryant   Tom Neubauer spends a lot of time every day talking about his community's military mission and the programs that support it.   Even Florida Gov. Rick Scott was surprised to learn recently that Neubauer has a separate f...

By Barbara Bryant   Mark Kern is a lifelong resident of Belleville, Ill., the largest city in St. Clair County, where he is serving his fourth term as county board chairman. He has watched Scott Air Force Base go from being considered for closu...

By Randy Ford “This is Tampa’s team, and the Bucs’ outpouring of affection is genuine.” —Col. Randy Bright, Commander, 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base   T ampa  Bay Buccaneers leaders say the team has always embraced the reg...

By Grace Marvin   When service members are ready to move to civilian life, Tampa's business leaders make sure they don't also move away.   Kay Schwartz felt the call to serve early in her life.    “When I was 18 my father asked me what I ...

By Grace Marvin   In South Georgia, a program dedicated to making service men and women feel at home, has rolled out the red carpet to welcome Moody Air Force Base personnel for a half century.    “The purpose of our  Red Carpet  dinn...

By Grace Marvin   At 7:15 a.m. on most Thursday mornings, you’ll find Bonnie  Ard  elbow-deep in glitter leading a craft project at Sallas Mahone Elementary School in Valdosta, Ga. Her audience? The children of the Scott Craven Mentoring Prog...

By Haley Shapley   Back in 2010, Navy SEAL Sean Haggerty was in Iraq when he really wanted a beer. There were none handy in the desert, so Haggerty got an idea: He’d brew his own.   “An entrepreneurial light flicked off in my head,” he rememb...

By Grace Marvin   News travels fast in Radcliff, Ky. When Randy Acton heard that Will Stolz, a fellow local businessman, had an idea for a Hardin County military appreciation day, it didn’t take long for Acton to track Stolz down.    "I kne...

By Hayley Shapley Tony Whelan, LouieConnect project manager, and Cathe Dykstra,  Family Scholar House CEO, discuss nonprofit organizations and careers with transitioning veterans at the Fort Knox Senior Leader Symposium March 28, 2918. Photo b...

By Willona Sloan   The region around Aberdeen Proving Ground takes pride in training new generations to carry on the tradition of innovation and service. America’s Defense Communities talked to one person about the opportunities he’s gotten, wh...