Whiteman Airman impacts local community

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Torey Griffith
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Service Before Self is a one of three core values instilled in every U.S. Air Force Airman. Charged with this principle, many Whiteman Airmen take it upon themselves to make a difference in the local community.

Lt. Col. Tony Monetti, 13th Bomb Squadron Acting Director of Operations, is one such Airman. Recently called out of retirement, Colonel Monetti owns a local business and, along with his wife, spearheads a Big Brothers and Big Sisters Agency.

Becasue of his reputation as an active member of the community, Colonel Monetti was recently asked by members of the local community to assist in improving the condition of the Lions Lake in Warresnburg, Mo.

"A group of citizens from town asked if I would be willing to do something about it," Colonel Monetti explained. "They asked if I would go complain, and I said, 'rather than complain, why don't we find out what's going on."

As is often the case in an ecomic downturn, it came down to funding.

"What I found was that the Parks and Recreation board ran out of money to restore the lake," he said. "Believe it or not, it would cost $600,000 to clean it up."

The deficit was close to $115,000, and Col. Monetti decided to take action. Rather than "throwing spears" at the Parks and Recreation Board, Colonel Monetti suggested they do something about the lake as a community. He offered to head up a committee to raise the money by Oct. 2010.

"It started with e-mails, and then a newspaper article, and before you know it, snowballed into the community coming together to develop a pro-active way to restore Lions Lake."

The team is composed of a grand cross-section of the local society and is highly structured. The head of the Operations Committee is the manager of the local Lowes store, while the Secretary of the Executive Committee is a student at the University of Central Missouri.

The community's initiative has raised more than $14,000 so far, and with a variety of future events planned to raise even more money.

Next on their agenda is a community-wide garage sale Oct. 24 at 219 Emerson St., Warrensburg, from 8 a.m. to noon.

"We're also planning future fundraisers, to include a golf tournament, a wine tasting and a raffle for hams," said Colonel Monetti. "I would like to encourage people to get involved in their local community, and this is one small way they can."