A graduate of West Point, Major General Karl Horst served our country for more than 40 years, leading soldiers at every level. He served as the deputy commanding general for a multi-national division in Baghdad and was responsible for more than 56,000 troops engaged in combat. He concluded his decorated career as the chief of staff for the U.S. Central Command, overseeing operations across 20 different nations.
Since retiring in 2013, General Horst calls Tampa Bay home and recently served as a host for the medal of honor convention and is a founder of Tampa's Riverwalk Gold Star Memorial. Following his passion as a leader, General Horst authored the book "Common Sense Leadership", with ten leadership lessons learned during his time in the Army.
General Horst becomes the 443rd Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through tonight's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $23.2 million to more than 750 different nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2016, the Viniks announced that the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.
