Joint Chiefs chairman to speak in city

Air Force general to return to Kansas for chamber's annual meeting in Ap

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be the keynote speaker at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting in April, officials announced Friday.

Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, a former Kansan, attended Shawnee Mission North High School and graduated in 1965 from Kansas State University with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He still follows the Wildcats and the Kansas City Chiefs, if he has time between meetings with the president. In the nation’s military chain of command, Myers ranks third after the secretary of defense and the president himself.

Though Myers won’t be paid for his visit, he readily accepted the invitation.

“He said it was always a welcome experience to return home,” said Lavern Squier, chamber president and chief executive.

Myers comes home to Kansas as many as four times a year, said a spokeswoman for his office in Washington, D.C.

In the past few years, he has accepted invitations to speak at Shawnee Mission North graduation ceremonies, the Liberty Memorial dedication in Kansas City, Mo., and this year’s Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas banquet in Topeka, where he was honored as “Distinguished Kansan.” He was the group’s Kansan of the Year in 2001, the same year he became chairman of the Joint Chiefs and just 20 days after the World Trade Center attacks and six days before the United States started bombing Afghanistan.

In addition to speaking in Lawrence during his trip to Kansas, Myers has been invited to speak at Fort Leavenworth, a Kansas City Rotary Club meeting and at Hutchinson Community College, the spokeswoman said. He’ll squeeze them all in if he can.

“He’s pretty loyal to the people in his state,” said Joan Ashboth, Myers’ public affairs officer.

text Gen. Richard Myers

The chamber invited Myers because he could speak about national security, said Larry McElwain, chamber chairman.

“That’s why he was our No. 1 choice because we knew he would speak about a subject that was very relevant,” McElwain said. “He is a fellow Kansan who has used his leadership skills to help protect our freedoms.”

The chamber’s annual meeting will be April 23. Invitations will go out and reservations will be accepted beginning in March.

Staff writers Chad Lawhorn and Joel Mathis contributed to this report.

Title: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He advises the secretary of Defense, the National Security Council and the president.Age: 61Birthplace: Kansas City, Mo.Education: Shawnee Mission North High School; mechanical engineering degree, Kansas State University, 1965; master’s degree, business administration, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., 1977; Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., 1977; U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., 1981; Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.Career: He is a command pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours, including 600 combat hours. Myers served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for 19 months before he took his position as chairman.