Archive for category: Community

I pushed back from my desk and just sat there, staring at the story I had just read in awe. I felt like I was reading a movie script, but in reality, it was a Congressional Medal of Honor citation for Colonel Roger Donlon, an incredible man I had the opportunity to meet recently.

Once a month, I get together with a group of business leaders for a prayer lunch, and last month, I happened to walk in at the same time as Steve Minnis, president of Benedictine College.

“Ernie, I want you to meet a guest of mine,” President Minnis said, introducing me to the man with him. “This is Colonel Roger Donlon, a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient.”

It was the first time I’d ever met a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, so needless to say I was thrilled to shake his hand and thank him for his service. He gave me a firm handshake and said hello, and we proceeded into the building. We were early, so I sat down with President Minnis, Col. Donlon, and my son, Paul.

Curious, I asked, “Col. Donlon, how did you get that medal?”

Without missing a beat, he responded, “They pinned it on my jacket.”

I chuckled. “Let me restate that. What did you do to get them to pin that on your jacket?”

Col. Donlon quickly changed the topic and instead told us about two of his brothers who served in the European Theatre in WWII. Soon the room began to fill up, and our rosary meeting got started. We prayed for the two fallen Kansas City, Kansas police officers, Captain Robert Melton and Detective Brad Lancaster as well as Col. Donlon’s brother, Mike, who was in hospice. After praying the rosary and having lunch, we went around the room and introduced ourselves.

When it came to Col. Donlon, he did tell a brief story from the battle, which took place at Camp Nam Dong during the Vietnam War. Before Col. Donlon left for Vietnam, his brother, Paul, had given him a “miraculous medal.” The medal had saved Paul’s life in WWII when it stopped a piece of shrapnel, and it still had a dent in the back to show for it. Col. Donlon ultimately lost the medal fighting during the battle at Nam Dong.

Selfless and Heroic  

I left there thinking there was something very special about Col. Donlon. The way he carried himself, his humility, and his care for others were all apparent in that short time I interacted with him. When I returned to the office, Ed Condon who also met Col. Donlon sent me the citation from Col. Donlon’s battle. I had to read it twice to fully understand everything he did to courageously lead his troops and save the outpost.

Col. Donlon, who was an Army captain at the time, was the commanding officer of a special forces detachment at Camp Nam Dong, a South Vietnamese government outpost. Early on the morning of July 6, 1964, Col. Donlon’s 300 men endured an extremely hostile attack from about 800 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers.

Col. Donlon was wounded multiple times during the grueling five-hour attack, and yet he selflessly led and aided his men while simultaneously pushing back the enemy and saving the camp. He was awarded the very first Medal of Honor for the Vietnam War by President Lyndon B. Johnson in December of 1964.

An excerpt from his citation reads:

“Without hesitation, he left this sheltered position, and moved from position to position around the beleaguered perimeter while hurling hand grenades at the enemy and inspiring his men to superhuman effort. . . . His dynamic leadership, fortitude, and valiant efforts inspired not only the American personnel but the friendly Vietnamese defenders as well and resulted in the successful defense of the camp.”

I won’t try to do the story justice, so I’d encourage you to read the full citation here. You can’t make this stuff up!

What Col. Donlon did to lead his men is simply unbelievable.

It’s hard to imagine being able to keep your wits about you and help everyone you can in such a hostile environment. He is certainly a man of valor.

If I’d never met Col. Donlon, I would never have known that he existed, let alone the heroism he has displayed. Meeting him reminded me that there are countless men and women that I will never hear about, and yet I am indebted to them for the freedom and blessings I enjoy every day in this country. I’ve never been in battle, but I have such respect and gratitude for those who have.

When you meet veterans, I’d encourage you to show them the respect they deserve, treat them with kindness, and keep them in their prayers. Those are things all of us can do.

In the process of writing this post, I learned that Col Donlon’s brother, Mike, the one we prayed for at our meeting, passed away that same day. Please keep Col. Donlon and his family in your prayers.

If you’d like to read more of Col. Donlon’s incredible story, here’s a great feature on him from The Washington Post.

Veteran Resources in Kansas City:

• Kansas City VA Medical Center
• Minds Matter, LLC
• Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph

On a Saturday night a few weeks ago, my daughter, Rebekah, called me during her shift at Knub’s Pub in Shawnee. She sounded concerned. A homeless woman had come into the restaurant, and Rebekah wanted me to meet her.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, wondering what good it would do for me to drive out there.

“I just want you to meet her,” Rebekah said.

It turns out that meeting a homeless person was exactly what I needed.

Poor but Grateful

My first reaction was to see what kind of resources I could find to help this woman. I made some calls, and it only took me about fifteen to twenty minutes to discover that there’s not a lot out there for in-taking homeless people in Johnson County at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night.

Rebekah called me again—this time she was crying. This woman, we’ll call her Amanda (that’s not her real name), had asked Rebekah if they could pray together, and in her prayer, Amanda thanked God for being able to sit in a place with air conditioning. Rebekah was blown away by Amanda’s gratefulness.

“She has nothing materially, but she has more faith than many people who have everything,” Rebekah said.

Rebekah was determined to find Amanda a place to stay for the night, and she insisted again that I come help. So I got in the car and headed to Knub’s Pub. When I walked in, I saw Amanda sitting at a booth. She’s in her mid- to late-30s, and she’s petite with blonde hair. She was wearing a filthy white shirt, and her jeans looked like they were ten sizes too big. The tattered bottoms were rolled multiple times and caked in dirt.

I introduced myself and sat down. She didn’t have anything with her except the food Rebekah and her coworkers had bought for her, and she was very timid and shy at first. When I asked her how she got there, she said that she walked . . . from Lawrence. I was shocked. She’d walked from Lawrence to Shawnee in the summer heat? But judging by her sunburn and the bug bites on her arms, I believed her.

By this point, I was resolved that if we couldn’t find Amanda a place to stay for the night, she was going to stay at our home.

Breaking Down Assumptions

It was loud inside the restaurant, so we went outside to continue talking. Through our conversations, it became apparent that Amanda deals with some mental health issues; however, she kept surprising me. She is very observant and intelligent. When I asked her what she likes to do, she told me that she wants to get a canoe so she can explore the river. She has real interests and dreams and aspirations just like anyone else.

I called Susan and asked her to come join us. When she got there, Amanda instantly stood up and pulled out her chair for Susan to sit down. Her instinctive servant’s attitude was humbling.

Then she looked at Susan and said, “Well, I guess it’s like talking to the prodigal son.”

Susan simply replied, “I don’t know anything about you. I just want to see if we can help.”

The exchange struck me. My family and I aren’t strangers to helping people in need. We’ve served with Catholic Charities, St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen, the Bishop Sullivan Center, and other ministries on a regular basis for years now, and Rebekah recently took a missions trip to Jamaica where she experienced extreme poverty and the harsh realities of mental and physical disabilities.

Yet, meeting Amanda was probably the first time that the three of us had spent extended time with a homeless person. Before then, the longest interaction I’d had with a homeless person was in passing as I put food on his or her tray. It was a real wake-up call for us and a powerful way to break the many stereotypes that come with poverty and homelessness.

As Susan pointed out later, “You don’t know the shoes they’ve walked in and what they’ve been through. Somewhere along the line something has happened to them, and you don’t know what.”

Susan took Amanda to Walmart to find her some new jeans, T-shirts, and hiking boots, and I headed home to get a room ready. By this point I assumed Amanda was going to spend the night with us. It was 9:25 p.m., I was out of luck finding anywhere for her to go. To my surprise, when Amanda and Susan got back to the house, Amanda said she wanted to go back to the homeless shelter in Lawrence, but she had to be there by 10.  The surprise was, Amanda was more comfortable going back to the shelter than staying in what would be like a five star hotel.

So we got in the car and headed off to Lawrence. Amanda knew where to go and pointed us in the right direction. When we got there, we said our goodbyes without much fanfare and went our separate ways.

More to Be Done

That night made a big impact on me, and it was an incredible eye-opener of the need in my own backyard. Homeless exists, yes, even in Johnson County. Susan’s and my frustration in this whole experience was that we didn’t know where to turn to help someone who needs a place to stay in our neck of the woods. There are some great resources out there, and I’m so thankful for each organization in our city that’s doing its best to serve the poor and the homeless. But I’m now very aware that there are serious holes in our system.

There is definitely more to be done.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve blown past many homeless people in downtown KC, assuming that they will use any change I can spare to support bad habits. But after meeting Amanda, I’m realizing that I just don’t know. Amanda’s story made me a lot more aware of the depth of mental illness, loneliness, and how hard life must be when you’re on the outside in so many senses of the word. Spending time with her has made me more open-minded and more eager to stop and hear people’s stories.

Rebekah didn’t expect to encounter that kind of need at her job in Shawnee, but the need is real, and your opportunity to make a difference is real too.

Just like Amanda, each homeless person has a story. Are you willing to find out what it is?

KC Resources for Homelessness

I want to give a huge thanks to the management and employees at Knub’s Pub. Thank you for welcoming Amanda into your restaurant, treating her with respect, getting her something to eat, and letting her enjoy the AC.

I also want to thank the people who took my calls that Saturday night. Here are a few of the organizations that are doing great things to meet needs in our city:

• Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas
• Catholic Charities of Kansas City—St. Joseph
• Lawrence Community Shelter
• Hope Faith Ministries
• Johnson County Interfaith Hospitality Network

The Kansas City Corporate Challenge Kickoff Party took place Friday, April 15th at the Truman Sports Complex.  There’s such a great vibe being out there after the two great seasons from the Royals and Chiefs in 2015, and the great start the Royals are having for 2016.

The afternoon started with setting up our tailgate spot along with the other 220 teams entered in this year’s event.  There were bands, DJ’s, tailgate games, face painting, jump houses, great BBQ and much more! Last year there were 30,000 people with the cooler weather we had. I can’t imagine what the final number was this year.

During the Kickoff Party there is a mile walk that participants and their families are encouraged to take part in. Each company earns one point for each participant, and our division maxes out with 10 points being earned. We easily did that!  It was fun walking and sharing camaraderie with the other 6,000+ participants.

While most of us were participating in the walk (and Parker running it because he was in a hurry to get to a kids track meet) we had Ernie slaving over the grill at the tailgate. He served up some great food and we all had a great time.

Cheers to all the 2016 KCCC competitors!

Straub Construction is always looking to give back to the community. What better way to do this than helping kids, and getting to shoot guns in the process!

Thursday, April 28th is National Super Hero Day

From 11:00am to 5:00pm, Straub Construction will be the title sponsor for the 1st Annual Shadow Buddies Shootout at Saddle and Sirloin.

For more details and to register, please download the Shadow Buddies Shootout flyer.

Besides stepping up as the title sponsor, Straub has also committed 20 employee volunteers. Our volunteers will help with everything from event registration, cooking, score keeping, cart driving, and more.

The Shadow Buddies Foundation

The Shadow Buddies Foundation is a not-for-profit set-up by the executive director, Marty Postlethwait of Olathe, 21 years ago.

Marty was visiting the hospital, with her son Miles, who was born with multiple congenital birth defects when the buddy idea began.

During one of his many hospital visits, when he was six, Miles told his mom he longed for a buddy who was just like him.  Marty enlisted a seamstress friend to create a “Buddy” for him.  Soon after that came the Shadow Buddies Foundation.

Today there are 28 different types of Shadow Buddy dolls and the foundation ships Buddies to all 50 states and 17 different countries.  There have been almost one million Buddies sent out so far.

The foundation has teamed up with the Kansas City Chiefs, KC Royals Charities, Sporting KC Victory Project, Garmin, Straub Construction, and many more.   They also have partnerships with many “Buddy Stars”.  Travis Kelce, Tony Gonzalez, Matt Cassel, and Dom Dwyer to name a few. How cool would it be to have Travis Kelce deliver a Super Hero Buddy in a Super Hero cape while you’re in the hospital?

Who knows, maybe one of these stars will be at the Shootout as well!?!?

Please contact Greg Hellbusch at ghellbusch@straubconstruction.com or 913-451-8828 to register for a Shadow Buddies Shoot-out team.  There are only 16 teams and they are filling fast!