MMA Leadership Attends 2024 AMCSUS Conference with the Top Military Schools in the Nation

Missouri Military Academy President Brigadier General Richard V. Geraci, USA (Ret); Board of Trustees members Chris Gentry, MMA Class of 1988; and Jim Obenshain, MMA Class of 1986; and four members of the MMA leadership team recently attended the annual conference of the Association of Military Colleges and Schools of the United States (AMCSUS). Held February 18-21, 2024, in Alexandria, Virginia, the conference brought together heads of school, deans, commandants, chief financial officers, marketing and admissions representatives, and other key staff members from 36 military schools and colleges in the United States and Canada.

At the conference, MMA President Geraci formally accepted his new role as president of the AMCSUS executive committee. Through this position, he leads the 9-member committee in supporting the association’s member colleges and schools and the 20,000 cadets they represent. AMCSUS members follow its military education model, which provides a structured learning environment in which young men and women thrive while gaining critical thinking and leadership skills and learning the importance of values, character, and personal responsibility. Its current membership holds 37 fully accredited military colleges, junior colleges and college preparatory schools. Below, Geraci (left) addresses the AMCSUS members at the 2024 conference.

Also attending from MMA included Assistant Academic Dean Ranae Clement; Director for Human Resources Melissa Miller; Deputy Commandant for Operations MSgt Kobi Blevins, USAF (Ret); and Director for Marketing Jennifer O’Donley. Feature photo above, back row, from left to right, O'Donley, Blevins, Gentry, Obenshain. Front row, Miller, Clement, Amy Obenshain, Kathy Geraci, and President Geraci.

“I felt the conference was enlightening as I learned different solutions to common problems in our industry. I also was heartfelt to learn how military schools are making a huge difference to teach leadership to the next generation in a time I feel it is needed more than ever,” Gentry says. “What we are doing is making a difference. We have a good future ahead of us if we stay proud of our past, but we must be ever mindful of changes needed to stay current and continue to successfully educate our young men on how to take command of their lives.”

Conference keynote speakers General Thomas A. Bussiere, Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command and Commander, Air Forces Strategic - Air, U.S. Strategic Command, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; and Major General William J. Bowers, Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command; reinforced the need for the AMCSUS schools to continue their mission of educating young men and women through the military education model and developing citizens ready to lead in their communities, industries and nation. Below, Major General Bowers with MMA President Geraci at the conference. 

“Our schools provide a stable and secure approach to the education of our youth. Attending the conference allows us to visit with other schools and to collaborate on our common challenges and opportunities,” says Obenshain, who has attended the conference for two consecutive years. “As a military school alumnus, veteran, and businessperson, I see a comprehensive picture of the value that military education has for our MMA middle school and high school cadets, our military schools’ essential role in developing our nation’s next generation of leaders, and the challenges of running a military school today. We must continue to invest in and strengthen these schools.”

In his closing remarks at the conference, President Geraci thanked those who attended and commented on the energy generated by gathering those who share the common AMCSUS mission.

“When we assemble for a major event such as this, we bring together tremendous expertise and create a great exchange of information,” Geraci said. “We get re-energized to fulfill our strategic vision and share to collectively move forward, while we stay in competition for providing the best education to develop the best leaders we can for our country.”