The Community Centre at Račinovci in the Vukovar-Srijem County has been renovated through combined efforts by the members of the Guards Mechanised Brigade of the Croatian Army and the Minnesota National Guard engineer units and was formally re-opened on 6 July 2015.
The ceremony was attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovrić,  the Croatian Army Commander, Lieutenant General Mate Ostović, the U.S . Deputy Ambassador to Croatia, Margaret Nardi, the Mayor of the Municipality of Drenovci, Jakša Šestić, the Prefect of the Vukovar-Srijem County, Božo Galić and the American and Croatian soldiers engaged in the works.
The renovation of the Centre was supported by the funds donated by the U.S. Army, and 35 members of the Minnesota National Guard executed works jointly with the Engineer Battalion of the Guards Mechanised Brigade to renovate the roof structure and install electrical wiring.
“We, Croatian soldiers, are very proud to be of assistance and to undertake a variety of projects in Croatia side-by-side with the U.S. soldiers. The United States invested over four million USD into the projects of the kind in the period from 2010-2014“.
General Lovrić also addressed the local residents pledging to continue the activities of the Croatian Armed Forces to restore normalcy in the area and  support the civilian population.
The U.S. Deputy Ambassador expressed pride over the assistance provided by the members of the Minnesota National Guard to the residents of the flooded areas in Croatia. “The members o the U.S. Army have shown the humanitarian dimension of the armed forces, helping the people in need“, said Mrs Nardi.
“The three weeks of intensive works by the American and the Croatian forces are now finished, and I am taking this opportunity to extend my warm gratitude to the American officials as well as to the Croatian soldiers, who have been there for us since the flood hit us“, said the Mayor of the Municipality of Drenovci, Jakša Šestić.