As the spirit of volunteerism and public service erodes, Plainview event hopes to spark a revival

Oct. 10—PLAINVIEW, Minn. — Ken Fliés was a Plainview teen when President John F. Kennedy's call to create the Peace Corps ignited a groundswell of public service and idealism in young people.

For a 19-year-old farm boy from Plainview, Kennedy's call to serve abroad and spread the values of development, democracy and freedom proved irresistible. And it led to the adventure of a lifetime.

Fliés flew to Brazil on the day of the Cuban missile crisis. He arrived in Rio De Janeiro when riots and unrest filled the streets. He was put on a bus, hauled 500 miles inland and plopped in a small, remote village in Brazil the size of Plainview.

There, for the next two years, he did whatever was needed to improve the town: He helped build a sawmill and maternity ward; he started a greenhouse and worked with hundreds of families on gardening projects; he taught math and English at night for the town's inhabitants.

It was a pivotal, life-changing moment.

Yet, Fliés, an entrepreneur who now lives in Eagan, looks around today and wonders what happened to that spirit of public and national service that once seemed so abundant. It doesn't seem to exist as it once did. He hopes to help revive it in some measure.

Fliés and other leaders are organizing a day focused on public service in Plainview that they hope will have long-term effects. It will feature speakers from the military, AmeriCorps and Peace Corps. It will also make Plainview, a town 20 miles northeast of Rochester, home to the first park dedicated to "elevating all forms of national service," Fliés said.

"This is the first of its kind in the nation in terms of a national service park that would include commemorating the service of Peace Corps volunteers. And it's extraordinary," said Glenn Blumhorst, Peace Corps commemorative chief advancement officer. "And it's drawing the attention of other leaders in the national service community."

Fliés' bleak sense that public service has faded as a societal motivation is backed up by data.

In an age where few things are not monetized, volunteer participation has been in a decades-long decline. And the pandemic and economic struggles accelerated the downward trend, experts say. According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps survey, formal volunteer participation was 23.2%, dropping 7% between 2019 and 2021 — the largest decrease the survey has recorded since a version of it started in 2002.

Last year, new figures from the U.S. Department of Defense showed that only 23% of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24, considered the prime recruiting age of the military services, were deemed eligible to serve in the military.

Physical fitness concerns, including obesity, and a criminal history or drug-related issues were the main reasons many potential applicants were disqualified. The numbers have major implications for national security.

A 2020 national report called "Inspired to Serve" highlighted how the U.S. is a country built on service. An involved citizenry, it notes, has played a foundational role in the country's "novel approach to government."

The desire to serve has surged in times of crisis. It has manifested itself in community-organized rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods and wildfires. It contributed to a sense of national unity following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

"Service in America is a critical ingredient of a vibrant and healthy democracy," the report states. "But these strengths are not a given — without attention and care, they are at risk."

Fliés frets about the decline of public service. Today, some people don't realize that the Peace Corps still exists, he said. When COVID-19 hit, the organization pulled all its volunteers out of the countries it serves and went into a low ebb.

In talking to military recruiters, he's learned that the services are more focused on middle school students than their high school counterparts who have traditionally been the target of recruitment efforts. Students often consider joining the military after seeing a classmate or best buddy enlist. But when the pandemic closed school buildings and students worked from home, students were often deprived of those examples

"They didn't have that social connection," Fliés said.

Fliés said his time in the Peace Corps made him aware of public service's ripple effects. Living abroad as a volunteer benefits the country one is serving. But it also benefits the U.S. by allowing residents of the country being served to interact with America's best representatives. Once volunteers return stateside, moreover, they often continue the work of giving back, this time to their own communities.

Many of southeastern Minnesota's best-known institutions were founded or made possible by former Peace Corps volunteers, including the National Eagle Center in Wabasha (David Fisk), the Marine Art Museum in Winona (Fastenal founder Bob Kierlin) and Great River Ridge State Trail (Fliés himself).

When Kennedy issued his call for an international service organization, it struck a chord with young people, particularly residents of Plainview. An estimated 58,000 applied to serve in the Peace Corps, Fliés said. Of the 3,000 selected to serve in the Peace Corps in that first year, four came from Plainview. In the first 50 years of the Peace Corps' existence, a dozen have come from the area.

Fliés said the idea of creating a National Service Park in Plainview is less about creating a memorial than an interactive experience that educates and appeals to young people. A proposed plaza would be lined with pavers from past Peace Corps volunteers/donors. QR codes on the pavers would allow visitors to learn about their service abroad.

The daylong dedication will take place on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at Plainview High School and will include representatives from the U.S. military, the National Guard, the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Speakers will include four-star Army General Joseph Votel; Colonel Eduardo Suarex, Minnesota National Guard's director of communications; and Carol Spahn, Peace Corps' director.

"We want to help (young people) understand that national service is the crux of our country," Fliés said.