Killeen Volunteers throw appreciation BBQ for 1st Cav

FORT HOOD, Texas - He never served a day in the Army, but for Benton Goodnight, a lifelong Killeen resident, being a public servant and giving back to the community that has given so much to him and his family, is one of the missions he tries to accomplish through his work as the chairman with the Celebrate Killeen Committee, of Killeen Volunteers, Inc.

"We owe a debt to these folks," said Goodnight of the Fort Hood Soldiers and family members. "Everything we do is to support the military."

In their first-ever event with its Adopt-a-Unit, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, June 24, the CKC threw an appreciation barbecue for more than 100 family members and Soldiers.

It was a partnership that took years in the making due to the operational tempo and deployment schedule of most Fort Hood units. "It's not as easy as you think to get a unit," Goodnight said laughing.

Goodnight said the committee spent the last few years fundraising and budgeting for events for a unit they never had until a rep from the local chapter of the Association of the United States Army married the CKC with 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt.

By the time the committee started their partnership, their unit was deployed to Iraq. It was by chance that Lt. Col. Mark Solomons, the 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. commander, was on hand to present their new sponsors with an appreciation certificate. Solomons, of Honolulu, was home from Iraq, recovering from a wound.

Goodnight said they never expected to meet the commander, but that from the moment they met Solomons and Capt. Robert Stigers, the 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. Rear Detatchment commander, the partnership took a charge they welcomed.

"The biggest thing is the partnership with the community and Soldiers," he said. "Both need to see the importance; they need to see what we do for a living."

Solomons, who got on a plane and left back for Iraq the following day, said he is appreciative for their sponsors and more grateful to have been back here to witness it. "This is what I envisioned; this is what right looks like."

It hasn't been very long that the CKC and 2nd Bn., 8th Cav. Regt. has been together, but in the last few months, Stigers, said their sponsors have given them a lot. The committee provided them with a hotel and meal vouchers for weekend retreats to Austin.

For Nicole Taplin, a family member, having outings such as the one sponsored by CKC, was "great."

"I came out here to hang out with some other wives and to get to know them better," she said. " I think it's good that [the CKC] does this for us and appreciates the military."

The CKC mainly a collection of volunteers throughout the community who, like Goodnight, just want to not only say the appreciate Fort Hood and its family members, but to show their appreciation.

One of its members, Rudy Norman, a retired Army major, described the organization as a "do something" committee.

Only a member of the past seven months, Norman, who ended up retiring in Killeen due to his three children, has watched the communities around Fort Hood grew up from the first time he and his family was assigned here in the '70s.

Goodnight, whose grandfather came to the area in the 1920's to be a rancher, described Killeen and the surrounding area as a Podunk town with some cotton.

"This is a small spot in Central Texas," Goodnight said. "Now, it's a big community; it's a growing, thriving place."

Through the years, Goodnight said he and his family has been blessed with good fortune - fortune he said his grandfather never could have imagined and attributes his success to Fort Hood and its family members.

"Fort Hood is our main business here in Killeen; we don't have a factory here," Goodnight said. "Personally, you feel you owe something back ... this is not a big deal. When you have people who want to help and you have people who need the help, it's a perfect fit.'

'I believe if I don't give back - if you don't help people, you're in trouble. I just hope my kids see what we do, my wife and I," Goodnight said. "[Soldiers] are doing it your own way. I think it's easy to put up a sign that says you support the troops; I don't have a sign.'"

For more information on the Killeen Volunteers, Inc., visit www.ci.killeen.tx.us or call (254) 501-7878.