By David Buie-Moltz
A Second of Respite at Sea
A sailor steps right into a small however brilliant area aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, pausing as he takes within the new environment. It’s a far cry from the steel-gray bulkheads of the plane service. As a substitute, he’s met with colourful partitions, gaming consoles, snug chairs and a non-public cellphone sales space the place he can name house.
“The connection again house is absolutely the primary ingredient of resilience,” Alan Reyes (MBA ’00) would later clarify, reflecting on the middle’s significance.
Reyes and Reid Townsend (MBA ’00), who first crossed paths as classmates on the College of Virginia Darden Faculty of Enterprise, by no means anticipated their bond would result in this — a mission to construct the first-ever United Service Organizations (USO) facilities aboard U.S. Navy ships.
Reyes, a retired Navy flag officer and former chief working officer of the USO, and Townsend, founding principal of MRP Industrial, a non-public actual property improvement agency, are bringing consolation to sailors removed from house.
“It’s not nearly creating a brand new area — it’s about making a extra constructive environment,” Reyes provides, noting the facilities’ position in decreasing stress throughout deployments.
Constructing a Bridge from Darden to the Decks
The initiative started with a well-known Darden connection. “We have been part mates, classmates and mates,” Townsend remembers. “The tradition at Darden inspired you to construct relationships with folks from completely different backgrounds.”
This bond impressed Townsend to help Reyes’s staff’s imaginative and prescient to broaden USO areas to ships — an effort that had lengthy confronted challenges. Nevertheless, as the necessity for larger help for sailors’ well-being grew to become evident, Navy management welcomed new options.
“The Navy wasn’t culturally able to work with a nonprofit aboard their ships,” Reyes admits. “However we reached some extent the place they acknowledged the necessity for change.”
Making use of the team-oriented method they realized at Darden, Reyes and Townsend collaborated with USO employees, Navy management and ship’s crew members to make the facilities a actuality. The mission grew rapidly, fueled by Townsend’s enthusiasm and Reyes’s army help experience.
“The educational staff construction at Darden helped create selflessness,” Townsend notes. “You notice you’re a part of one thing greater than your self.”
Creating Areas for Connection
The USO facilities supply greater than leisure; they supply a vital hyperlink to the surface world.
“These ships are extremely industrial environments the place each nook and cranny is spoken for,” Reyes says. “Including a nonprofit area required navigating purple tape and discovering inventive options.”
However the impression has been plain, as sailors now have area to decompress. “It’s about caring for folks,” Reyes displays. “And that’s one thing Darden taught us properly.”
A newly opened USO lounge aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford gives U.S. Navy sailors a snug area to calm down, that includes gaming consoles, cozy seating and a non-public space for private calls. (Contributed Picture)
Non-public cellphone cubicles on the new USO middle aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford permit sailors to attach with family members again house, enhancing morale throughout lengthy deployments. (Contributed Picture)
Carl Nease (MBA ’00) and D. Reid Townsend (MBA ’00) get pleasure from a gaming session at a newly opened USO middle on the USS Gerald R. Ford, offering sailors with much-needed recreation at sea. (Contributed Picture)
Classes from the Studying Crew
This mission is a testomony to the enduring affect of Darden’s values. “The best way we realized collectively within the case methodology — it was much less about particular person achievements and extra about collective success,” Reyes says.
It’s a precept that guided their efforts on this initiative and continues to form their management at present.
The Darden group typically speaks of the “studying staff” as greater than only a group for case research — it’s a crucible for constructing lifelong relationships and values.
“We weren’t simply finding out enterprise; we have been studying the best way to help one another,” Reyes provides. “That’s a spirit that stays with you.”
Alumni Service and Assist
As Townsend and Reyes look ahead to their twenty fifth Darden Reunion this coming April, they continue to be lively Darden Annual Fund donors. Townsend can be acknowledged as a member of the Darden Society and Hickory Membership. For each, giving again to their alma mater aligns with a broader dedication to service.
As a member of the USO’s World Advisory Council, Townsend goals to boost consciousness and help for the group’s mission throughout the industrial actual property trade.
“I wished to get extra concerned in philanthropy, particularly a military-oriented trigger,” Townsend explains. “Connecting with Alan was like reconnecting with an outdated teammate.”
Darden’s Affect Past Grounds
This story isn’t nearly two alumni making an impression — it’s about how Darden’s collaborative tradition continues to form their method to management and repair.
Reyes just lately transitioned from his position as chief working officer on the USO to chief of worldwide operations at Spirit of America, a nonprofit that companions with U.S. troops and diplomats worldwide.
“Darden introduced collectively like-minded folks and fostered a way of belonging,” Reyes displays. “It’s just like the Navy’s wardroom — a band of brothers and sisters working towards a standard objective.”
For Reyes and Townsend, the teachings realized at Darden weren’t simply theoretical — they’ve translated into real-world actions that matter.
As Townsend places it, “Darden taught us that caring for folks isn’t simply good enterprise — it’s the proper factor to do.”
