U.S. Army Reserve Pilot Program’s Childcare Intergovernmental Support Agreement Signing Ceremony

August 18, 2023

On Thursday, August 17th, City Manager Lee Geertz, alongside Mayor Ethan Anderson and Council Member Dana Dominguez, signed the Childcare Intergovernmental Support Agreement at the Hall of Heroes inside the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The ceremony was hosted by Chief of U.S. Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels, and signifies the beginning of an unprecedented partnership between the Army Reserve and the civilian organization WeeCare to provide childcare services for soldiers and their families. West Liberty was chosen to spearhead this initiative due to it’s diverse demographics and central location to multiple metropolitan areas.

 

(U.S. Army photo by Henry Villarama)

 

Mayor Ethan Anderson presented the ceremony speech on behalf of West Liberty:

President Herbert Hoover, who was born about ten miles from West Liberty, is recorded in the New York Times as being fond of saying the phrase: “Children are our most valuable natural resource.”
My wife and I have three kids.
Parenting our kids well is likely one of the most important things that any of us will do in our lives.
And the one thing that every parent knows is that feeling of relief when you need to leave your child, and you know that you are leaving them with someone you trust. You know that they are in good hands.
It’s worthwhile to invest in it.
I have a friend who traveled to Minneapolis to watch someone’s kids for a week while their father traveled on business. When the time was over, my friend suggested that she drive the family’s fancy BMW home. The father objected. But my friend immediately called him out: “You trust me with your KIDS for an entire week but you don’t trust me with your nice car??”
She drove the BMW home.
The importance and value of having access to quality childcare is hard to quantify.
On behalf of the City of West Liberty and our surrounding communities, we are honored to be a part of this partnership to serve our military families with quality childcare. And we say thank you.

 

For more photos, please visit the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.