Message from the Chairman, Mr. Ron Thigpen:

The CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon has undertaken a reorganization and a shift in focus.  But before I address that specifically, let me share a little history and background on the Alliance. 

The CSRA Alliance was created in March, 2003 by Charlie Norwood as a non-profit organization w/Larry DeMeyers as Chairman and an excellent Board of Community and Business leaders.  The original missions were to:

·        Create awareness in the community of the threat of base closure and the potential economic impact should Ft Gordon be realigned or closed.

·        To inform political and senior military leaders of the capability and effectiveness of Ft Gordon to perform its missions and accept additional missions.

·        To identify and improve area quality of life characteristics so the CSRA would be viewed by the Department of Defense as a favorable place for service members and their families.

·        And finally, in the event of closure of Fort Gordon, position the community for base reuse.

Along the way, in the ensuing two and one-half years, we accomplished a lot of things:

·        Hired McKenna, Long & Aldridge and Hurt-Norton & Associates as Washington-based partners and resources to interface with our congressional and senior military leadership. 

·        We did a lot of research on our community and region to promote the quality of life in the CSRA.

·        We defined the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities at Fort Gordon related to missions.

·        We created public awareness of the issues by making presentations to over 100 civic clubs, business organizations, and government agencies throughout Georgia and South Carolina.

·        We served as the Augusta area representative on the Governor’s Military Affairs Committee, working to coordinate state level support and funding for the preservation of Fort Gordon.

·        We coordinated numerous visits for community leaders to meet with congressional leaders, senior military leaders, and the US Army Training and Doctrine Command. 

·        We helped coordinate numerous high-level visitors to Ft Gordon to including Gov Perdue, the Commanding General of the Training and Doctrine Command, and Congressional representatives including the Speaker of the House and  Senators  Chambliss and Isakson,

·        And we raised funding from government, business and private donations to support these activities.

The bottom line of all that effort was that the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon was successful in rallying the entire Greater Augusta community behind a common cause - supporting Fort Gordon - and showed that Augusta’s favorable quality of life and strong support for the military make it a great place for service members and their families to live and work.  And in the end, Fort Gordon was basically unaffected by BRAC. What a great success story for the CSRA!

So, what’s next??  Well, as we all know, Fort Gordon continues to be one of the largest economic engines in our area.  We must continue to work to preserve and grow Fort Gordon and realize the growth potential of a progressive relationship between the CSRA and Fort Gordon. We can’t just breathe a sigh of relief and sit by the road.

We have reorganized the Alliance with a new Board of Directors with a greater focus on economic development and furthering the relationships between the community and Fort Gordon. 

We have established specific goals for the CSRA Alliance:

·        Serve as the CSRA’s central coordination and resource center for all community-related Ft Gordon initiatives in other words a central clearing house.

·        Fully integrate Ft Gordon and the CSRA Community with more involvement in each other’s events/activities, more joint partnerships, and quality of life improvements for all.

·        Provide for the long term viability of the CSRA Alliance and Fort Gordon by ensuring that the community remains supportive of Fort Gordon and the military.  The community needs to express significant support for Fort Gordon and we need to capitalize on the many economic development opportunities that exist related to Fort Gordon.

Briefly in that regard, let me mention a number of initiatives underway at the present time:

·        Establishment of an IT Business/R&D Center in the vicinity of Ft Gordon.

·        Follow-on employment opportunities for servicemembers separating or retiring from the service.  Marketing the highly skilled former-military workforce to new and existing employers.  Assisting area employers with employment needs.

·        Establishment of a joint, combined armory on Ft Gordon to house area Guard and Reserve units, providing increased security for the units and redevelopment opportunities for the existing armories and reserve centers.

·        Implementation of the joint land use study recommendations to prevent encroachment on Ft Gordon property.

·        Quality of life improvements for service members and their families to include spousal employment, education, housing, and recreation.

·        Advocating the needs of Fort Gordon with local, state and federal government officials through visits to Congress and the Pentagon, membership in the Governor’s Military Affairs Committee, coordination with state representatives, and coordination with local governments.

To be successful we need the community to assist in our efforts by:

·        Showing support for service members and their families by offering military discounts, hosting events for service members and their families, and through corporate membership in military organizations such as Assn of US Army (AUSA) and Armed Forces Communications Electronics Assn (AFCEA).

·        Participating in Fort Gordon events and utilizing those Fort Gordon activities open to the public such as the Gordon Lakes Golf Course, the Fort Gordon riding stables, bowling center, Gordon Club and Dinner Theater.

·        Assisting the CSRA Alliance in its mission by participating in Alliance sponsored events and assisting with the Alliance’s annual funding requirements.

Even if there were to never be another Base Realignment and Closure round, the CSRA Alliance still fills an important void as the primary coordinating agency between Fort Gordon and the surrounding communities. 

Mr. Ron Thigpen
Chairman
CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon