FORT KNOX, Ky. — Sink or swim, six competitors took to the water during the internal Fort Knox Directorate of Family Morale, Welfare and Recreation Shark Tank Competition on Sept. 6.
The competition’s top three contestants, two of which tied for second place, earned the privilege of splitting $50,000 of DFMWR reinvestment funds to make their ideas a reality.
According to DFMWR Director Randall Moore, the competition was designed to inspire new and innovative community initiatives.
“[The competition] was intended to give people an opportunity to participate in how we reinvest in programs and give them that voice that they think they don't have - they have it, and we just want to amplify it,” said Moore. “They see things that I don’t. They see things that the senior leaders don't.”
According to Moore, when it came to the Shark Tank standard grading criteria, the focus was on preparation; a valid community need; and information on return on investment, revenue and cost avoidance.
Lee Kahler, who works for the Fort Knox Equipment Checkout Center as small engine repair staff, received the first-place award for his proposal - Mission Ride. Mission Ride is an app-based bike share system that aims to provide alternate transportation to the transient population within Fort Knox.
“The whole idea, for me, fell in line with so many different things. It's a greener initiative, because it's not making the [carbon monoxide] that cars do, and it works on the mental health side of things,” said Kahler. “I thought it was too good of an idea not to bring up [while] they were offering this opportunity.”
Kahler said that the idea came out of a conversation he had with a friend from Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) about Soldier needs and the negative impacts of feeling ‘landlocked’ in barracks.
“I really just hope that it incentivizes people who may be more reclusive to get out and enjoy their time here on Fort Knox, [rather than] being stuck in a in a location only going to work and back to the barracks.”
According to Kahler the app will function as many other bike-share app do; once the app is downloaded patrons can simply approach a bike kiosk, select a bike and pay the rental fee. A rider’s rental is ended once the bike is parked back at a kiosk.
The initiative will start small but has plenty of room to grow.
“I was initially asking for 10 bikes, [but] they doubled what I was asking for so, they're going to give me enough money for 20 [bikes],” said Kahler. “There should be enough left over with that to be able to get some extra docking stations.”
Kahler added that the locations of the docking stations are still being discussed. If it proves popular, Kahler said he hopes to expand the program to reach more DFMWR locations.
Though Kahler won the majority of the prize fund, the sharks also voted to fund both projects that tied for second place – a School Age Center Virtual Playground as well as A League of Their Own - a collapsable batting cage system for Child and Youth Services.
When the competition was announced Michelle Howard, a Donna Kirby School Age Center Training Specialist, knew exactly what she was looking for – an interactive, projector-based gaming system.
“I had gone to Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) in Louisville, Kentucky, [and] they had one of those [systems],” said Howard. “They let the [us] try it out, and it was awesome! We had a great time, and we knew if we were enjoying it, then the kids would really enjoy it and benefit from it.”
Howard said the specific system she is requesting comes equipped with over 300 games and can be expanded to different measurements to fit various floor and table spaces. It can also mount to the floor or ceiling, making it the perfect versatile tool for the SAC gym.
She hopes the Virtual Playground will create a more interactive and inclusive environment that will support the varying developmental differences of SAC children, and improve mental-health, physical fitness and imagination’ within the program.
“One of the reasons why we were looking at something like this, [was so] that we could do those gross motor activities,” said Howard. “We have children in our center with varying abilities. We have children in our center that have ADD, ADHD, autism, etc. We are fully inclusionary center, and we want to make sure that we have something that everybody is going to be able to use.”
Howard added that the system will be able to replace many physical activities that involve unfavorable textures for those with sensory and texture issues. Additionally, it features a “Zen Garden” that she said she hopes can be used as a tool for emotional stability. Niya Sparks, a Child and Youth Services fitness specialist tied for second place with her idea for a collapsible indoor/outdoor batting cage.
Sparks said that when she started with CYS in January of this year there was a gap in the baseball and softball preseason training, due to weather conditions that prevented them from practicing hitting. To combat this, they utilized an off-post batting cage to keep their skills fresh.
“We paid for each of our teams to go at least twice for preseason [practice], it was a roughly $2,000 for 11 teams to go twice, and not every team went,” said Sparks. “So, when the Shark Tank opportunity [came about] I was like, okay, that could be a chance for us to maybe get [a batting cage] on post.
Sparks highlighted the added benefits of saving the program money in the long run as well as no longer requiring parents to drive all the way to Elizabethtown and back.
The selected batting cage can expand up to 72 feet in length and collapses to a manageable two feet, making it easily transferable from location to location. It also comes with an L-shaped guard that can be inserted to allow another player to pitch to the hitter from inside the cage, adding more versatility to the cage.
“[We] could easily put stations in there to [train] more than just one kid so everybody's getting repetitions, and everybody's involved and engaged.”
Sparks said she’s excited to use this tool to expand the practice capabilities beyond in-season training.
“It gives CYS an opportunity on post that, I assume a lot of installations don't have, said Sparks. “Not all families have the ability to go off post and get extra help for baseball and softball, so to provide that for them on post - I think is huge.”
Moore said he valued hearing ideas from people who are not typically involved in these processes, and he feels employees will be very excited to participate next year.
“They are the people working with customers face-to-face on a daily basis, so they have a pretty good idea of what [the customer] needs or wants. And I think, to the credit of these individuals, they all came through with exactly those kinds of projects. I'm really proud of all of them.”
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