About Us
Bringing a positive impact to the lives of all First Responders and their families
American Pride is a thoughtful, non-partisan and inspirational non-profit corporation offering high-quality, timely and professional art presentations, speeches and learning events to engage students, the general public and organizations with first-person stories of overcoming challenges relating to the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11/2001. We view ourselves as partners with our audiences, community and our country, with a special purpose to help people appreciate and support First Responders and the U.S. Military. We aim to become a nationally recognized brand name, capitalizing on the sustained interest in the events of the September 11th Attacks, human resolve, providence, and patriotism.
Our goal is moderate, sustained growth with engagement to thousands, nationwide, while maintaining our sense of humor, honesty, and commitment to freedom.
Our Board
Ryan Yantis
Designation: Communications Executive
Ryan Yantis is an accomplished and award-winning communications executive with a rich history of delivering dynamic, informative and reflective multimedia presentations. He combines candor, humor and valuable information into customized themes and topics of interest related to motivational leadership, reputation management, crisis communications and personal safety preparedness. His reputation for compelling, engaging communications has positioned Ryan as a sought after speaker to corporations, universities, professional organizations and community groups.
Ryan Yantis
As a survivor of the 9/11 Pentagon Attack who was decorated for his actions on that historic day, Ryan provides his personal account of duty, providence and overcoming challenges in the face of danger. In a multimedia presentation, he interacts with the audience fielding a wide range of questions on the events, policies and the history leading up to the 9/11 Attacks, and offers insightful observations related to impact on our country and ongoing conflict. With diversity of personal and professional experience as a veteran, historian and Army Public Affairs Officer, Ryan has led more than 100 presentations for schools, veterans groups, police academies, first responders, and other organization involved in service to our nation.
Ryan is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Missouri-Columbia and graduate of executive communications and public affairs programs. During his 20+ year military career which began in 1984, he served as a cavalry officer in Germany and Korea, and then taught ROTC in Minnesota. He was recruited to become an Army spokesman in 1993, and served in Europe and Africa as a Public Affairs Officer, supporting operations in over a dozen countries. He was selected to be the Director of Army Public Affairs – New York, and was later the Deputy Chief of the Media Relations Division, Department of Army in the Pentagon.
In 2003 he came to Chicago and led in the creation of Army Public Affairs – Midwest, a regional outreach office with responsibility for an 11 state area. He retired from the Army in 2006 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and began five years of leadership service in the non-profit sector, first as the executive director of the Pritzker Military Library and later the Korean War National Museum. In the private sector, he served as Managing Supervisor with Fleishman-Hillard Inc., a leading PR firm, and as the principal of Yantis Consulting, a full-service public relations firm, specializing in crisis communication and mitigation. He is currently the Communications Manager for the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a cabinet-level state agency charged with supporting Illinois’ 721,000 veterans with a workforce of 1,300 and a budget of over $151 million.
Born and raised in California, Ryan moved his family to Crystal Lake, Illinois in 2003. He has three great daughters and is active with the Union League Club of Chicago, the US Army Public Affairs Alumni Association, American Legion, and the Association of the United States Army. He supports the USO-Illinois and other worthy military/veteran organizations. He is a founding member of American Pride, Inc.
Don Bacso
Designation: Executive Director
Don Bacso is an accomplished IT executive with over 25 years of experience in business. Mr.Bacso was a frequent traveler as a business IT consultant from 2000 through 2009. One of these excursions would put him at World Trade Center Tower 1 on September 11, 2001. He was assigned an office location on the 57th floor of Tower 1.
Don Basco
As a survivor of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, he provides his personal and chronological account of the activities, challenges and heart break of that fateful day. He has made it his duty as long as he is physically able to enlighten and educate his audiences about the bravery and patriotism of our first responders on that day. Mr. Bacso has been requested to speak in front of corporations, universities, high schools, civic organizations and well as military personnel.
Don is an alumnus of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science specializing in Finance. He has served as a school board member for the Lake Central School Corporation for the past seven years, and was nominated President during the current year. In 2014, he received the Americanism Award from the American Legion which exemplifies community spirit and patriotism at the highest levels. Mr. Bacso is also on the 9/11 memorial advisory board for the town of Schererville, Indiana which successfully procured and installed a steel beam from the World Trade Center into the local town memorial.
Born and raised in Indiana, Don has a wife, Jennifer, and two sons, Nicholas and Bennett. He is a founding member of American Pride, Inc.