Veterans of the Mission Continues Shaken by Greitens Saga Stltodaycom a
ST. LOUIS • After two tours in Iraq, Jay Breneman became a firm believer in The Mission Continues. He is one of hundreds of fellows the nonprofit organization empowered to become community leaders.
In his case, that led to becoming chairman of the Erie County Council in Pennsylvania, running for state representative and reaching out to veterans in distress.
Breneman, 35, often would share Eric Greitens' personal story and quote from his inspirational books. Breneman now says he will focus on the work of The Mission Continues instead of its superstar.
Jay Breneman became a community leader because of his involvement with The Mission Continues.
"We essentially have lost somebody who many people looked up to as a hero," he said. "I don't see him coming back from that."
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"I am always going to give deference to potential victims in these types of cases," said Breneman, a social worker.
Greitens co-founded The Mission Continues in 2007 in St. Louis and expanded it nationwide, largely on the momentum of his own trajectory from scholar to humanitarian to warrior to public servant. Though he left the multimillion-dollar organization in 2014, his name is often synonymous with the group, which has done numerous community service projects around the country.
Jess Peter (left), city impact manager with The Mission Continues, a nonprofit aiding veterans as they return to civilian life, instructs volunteers on the work planned to help refurbish the Normandy Kindergarten Center in Bel-Nor Saturday, July 29, 2017. Photo by Sid Hastings
The nonprofit has been silent since Wednesday, when a Missouri special legislative committee released a report that provided a graphic account of the sexual relationship between Greitens and his former hairstylist. When asked for a response by the Post-Dispatch on Friday, spokeswoman Laura L'Esperance picked her words carefully.
"The allegations that came out go against the values of this organization and do not reflect what we stand for in any way," she said. "We look forward to a resolution of all these investigations."
The governor continues to take heat over his campaign not disclosing a donor list from The Mission Continues. The Associated Press reported in 2016 that $2 million was raised from donors who also gave significant amounts to the charity. The nonprofit has denied supplying the list.
High-profile former associates of The Mission Continues who are running for public office have been quiet since the sex scandal exploded.
Ken Harbaugh cofounded the nonprofit with Greitens and was its first executive director. They met on their first day at Duke University in 1992 as part of the same scholarship program. Harbaugh went on to Yale Law School and became a Navy pilot. As of the end of 2017, Harbaugh had raised more than $640,000 in his run for Congress in Ohio as a Democrat.
Though he left The Mission Continues in 2012, a photograph keeps resurfacing of Harbaugh standing next to Greitens and his wife, Sheena, at a gala. Asked if he continues to stand by Greitens given recent allegations, his spokeswoman didn't return multiple messages.
Eric and Sheena Greitens pose for an undated photograph with Ken Harbaugh at a Mission Continues gala. Harbaugh and Greitens were co-founders of the nonprofit. Photo courtesy of the Ladue News.
"Veterans have proven to not just say they are putting country before party — but attached their lives to that promise," Harbaugh told the Post-Dispatch in 2017. "That commitment can be part of the solution to the standoff, the disaster that is D.C. today."
Aaron Scheinberg, who stepped down last summer as director of The Mission Continues Northeast sector, is running for Congress as a Democrat in West Virginia and has vowed to "bring the 'service' back into public service." He studied Arabic at West Point and served in Iraq.
On Friday, he couldn't be reached for comment about the impact of the Greitens scandals.
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Source: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/veterans-of-the-mission-continues-shaken-by-greitens-saga/article_36857fd5-0de3-5440-a495-fabf97de7972.html
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