In their neighborhoods and across the world, efforts of Geneseo alumni transform individuals, communities and generations. We recently shared the stories in the Scene magazine of several alumni who demonstrate the power we each have to make a difference, in large or small ways.
We will highlight these stories in the coming weeks. Know someone who is having an impact? Tell us at scene@geneseo.edu.
Dustin McGunnigle always wanted to be in the military and spent all four years of high school in the JROTC. He just turned his tassel as a senior, but on Aug. 30 he was at Texas Air Force base training to repair aircraft.
Before he leaves, 400 residents, veterans and others from his hometown gathered to say a collective “thank you.”
McGunnigle and 50 other high-school seniors from Camden County, N.J., who are entering the Armed Forces attended the celebration — worthy of the White House lawn. The Army Band serenaded them and Secretary of the Army Patrick J. Murphy encouraged them.
“It feels so good to be recognized,” says Dustin.
His mom, Susan, is appreciative that others think of the sacrifices he and his family will make.
“That was probably the most amazing experience I’ve been through with him,” she says. “It was incredible that that many people thought so much of these kids. I cried. I was proud.”
The event was possible because of Kenneth E. Hartman ’81, who created Our Community Salutes, a nonprofit organization that honors graduates who join the military directly after high school.
It started eight years ago, when Kenneth noticed there was no recognition for new enlistees in Camden County. Only 1 percent of teens who graduate from high school make this commitment. He wondered, where are the bragging rights and bells and whistles?
So Kenneth started them himself.
“My belief is that it’s not the government’s job to thank these kids,” says Ken. “It is the community’s responsibility ... When they are in basic training, or driving a vehicle in a strange village, or they have assignment they think is impossible to carry out, I want them to think about the people who turned out that one evening, and know they have their back.”
Our Community Salutes is now a national nonprofit organization with 41 chapters in 19 states. Volunteers have held 67 events — with some 10,000 participants — from New Jersey to Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
“That first year, I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it, where I was going to have it or if anyone would come,” remembers Kenneth, who is a former commissioned officer in the Army and helped start Geneseo’s ROTC program in 1978.
Our Community Salutes provides logos and expertise; each community leads its own way to honor the recruits.
At the Cherry Hill event, Dustin and Allison Johnson were surprised with the fanfare.
“I thought it was going to be a simple dinner,” says Allison, who wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps in the Army. She completed basic training before she was a senior. “It’s always been what I’m going to do with my life. It’s what I am.”
As much for the parents, she says her mother, Tamara, was moved by the ceremony, too.
During the evening, a member of Blue Star Mothers of America read a poem about what it’s like to have your baby leave to train, or fight. Her mother cried as it was read, and Allison held her tight.
It was difficult to remember through it all, Allison says, that everyone was gathered to say thank you — to her.
“I’ve seen that magic unfold across the country,” says Kenneth. “To see the faces of these moms and dads and kids, you realize what a difference these ceremonies are making in communities.”
In 2015, the Army awarded Kenneth the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the highest medal the Army gives to citizens. For him, it symbolizes the power of a good idea.
“Our Community Salutes is not about me,” he says. “Hundreds of volunteers across the country plan and execute this. I just lit the fire.”
— Story by Kris Dreessen. Photo by Keith Walters '11