after Kansas City. Although the ship will be stationed in San Diego, Calif.
after its commissioning in the Spring of 2020, the Commissioning Committee
hopes to keep ties close between this Littoral Combat Ship and the city after
which it was named.
That Commissioning Committee is made up of local people who
feel a special connection to the United States Armed forces, some of whom have
served themselves, including longtime REALTOR® and past president of the
Metropolitan Kansas City Real Estate Board, Jim Malouff. The purpose of the
committee is to raise community awareness of this newly christened ship and help
raise funds for the service men and women on its crew.
The Commissioning Committee is raising funds to provide
gifts for the morale and welfare of the crew of the USS Kansas City, such as
athletic and recreational equipment. It is also working to establish a
scholarship program with those funds, which will provide educational benefits
for qualifying members of the ship’s crew. The Committee’s hope is that this
scholarship fund will not only provide education to U.S. service men and women,
but that it will also establish an enduring relationship between Kansas City
and the USS Kansas City.
“These people are putting their lives on the line every
single day, because when you’re in the military, you’re on the duty 24/7,”
Malouff said. “These young people have a heck of a lot of courage and
patriotism and sacrifice and commitment to help serve this country. And so
every day they’re out there protecting us.”
Malouff believes the service of the U.S. Military affects
everyone in the country, but he said the Navy in particular plays an important
role in the real estate industry, because many of the materials used in the
construction of single family, multi-family and commercial buildings are
imported by sea, like steel, iron and cement.
“If the sea lanes were disrupted or curtailed for any length
of time… the affordable prices we pay now for many items would skyrocket,”
Malouff said. “Our inability to get certain items, critical materials and
commodities would cause companies to cut jobs and affect our national security…
Protection of our sea lanes is important and affects our prosperity as
individuals, our community and our country.”
Anyone who would like to donate to the fundraising effort of
the USS Kansas City’s Commissioning Committee to benefit the service men and
women who will be serving on the ship may donate at https://usskansascity.org/donations/.
