The 2016 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual meeting will take place next week in Washington, D.C.

Local community leaders will travel to the meeting, a decision that many have criticized as invaluable to Junction City and the Flint Hills region.

Mick McCallister, Mayor of Junction City, said that having a local presence at this national meeting is essential, and not as costly as some may suggest.

“The amount of money we spend is a pittance in the grand scheme of our budget and what we get out of it for the small amount,” said McCallister.

At the 2015 meeting, McCallister had an opportunity to see firsthand how in-person discussions can sometimes go a long way for the community.

“AUSA is important to the community, there are some folks who don’t believe it’s very important, but as I look back last year talking to the honorable Ms. Hammock, and talking about the recycling sorter that we desperately need at Fort Riley for a regional opportunity to recycle; and she said, ‘well we just don’t have the money right now but if I find the money, Fort Riley will be the first place on my list’ – and she did, she found the money and Fort Riley has a recycler,” said McCallister. “It was one of those face to face, nose to nose, across the table talking and letting people know what we need here in this region.”

Now that Fort Riley has the recycling sorter, McCallister said the next step is to put everyone in the region on a recycling plan.

“Now the next step is going to be, take all those folks in the region, put them on a recycling plan, recycle that material and make it profitable, make it economical for Fort Riley to be able to do that and plus, it will help the Flint Hills region as a whole to be able to get on board with the environmental issues and doing some of that stuff, said McCallister.

McCallister, along with other City and County officials will travel for the conference October 3rd through 5th.