Congratulations to our 2021 AWN Empowerment Gallery Recipients! If you or someone you know would like to join the ranks of these elite empowerment champions, nominate an individual for Everyday Empowerment or a charitable organization for AWN Empowers.
January Recipients
Command Team Member MRE: Anika Matheidas
Anika has been a military spouse since January 2019. She is 23 years old and has been married for two years to her husband, David. College Station, TX, is her hometown, but she has been stationed at Fort Bliss with David since November 2019. Anika holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Social Work from USC (online). She believes the most exciting part of being a military spouse is meeting so many new people. Although Anika and David do not have any children, she recently became a “dog mom” to two adorable puppies. Anika owes all of her blessings to God and is at peace knowing that He is watching out for us.
Band of Bloggers MRE: LaVaughn Ricci
LaVaughn is originally from Michigan and met her husband while they were both students at Cedarville University in Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts, and she also studied bible, theatre, and American Sign Language. She is certified in Teaching English as a Second Language.
LaVaughn’s husband commissioned in the U.S. Army in 2004, and the two of them overcame a long-distance relationship through five different duty stations and two deployments before they finally married in 2011. Since then, they have been stationed at seven different installations together, have had four incredible children (two born overseas), and have travelled a decent fraction of the world.
LaVaughn loves Jesus Christ, being an Army wife, adventuring with her family, musicals, chocolate, chai lattés, and a quality cup of decaf. She is a homeschooling mom who volunteers in SFRGs, PWOCs, and enjoys helping service members and their families whenever and however possible. She would enjoy connecting with you on Facebook.
Platoon Member of the Month: Allee Alvarez
Allee shares that she grew up as a Navy child with 18 years of travel and moves for her dad’s career as an officer. She shares that it was sometimes sad, but that she was so grateful for the experience. Because of their move to Japan, she met her husband as a senior in high school. Allee and her husband married three years after meeting, right after he graduated Army boot camp all while in the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic! Unfortunately, they had to push the wedding back 3 months due to it, and were only able to have immediate family present to avoid a large gathering. Allee shares that despite all of these things, their day was absolutely perfect in every way! They are now currently at their first duty station in Texas & preparing for his first deployment – 10 months apart after being married for only 4. Allee shares that it’s definitely a lot to deal with emotionally, but the military has given them the chance to meet, travel the world, and grow as individuals as well as together so she wouldn’t change a thing about their military family life. Both of their fathers still serve, and Allee says she feels so blessed for the opportunity for her growing family to support her husband as he serves the country they both love so much! Go Army!
February Recipients
Command Team Member MRE: Jolene McNutt
Jolene is a writer, editor, and graphic designer. She co-owns a business with her retired teacher dad creating hands-on resources for elementary and middle school teachers. Jolene has been married to her extroverted husband, Phil, for more than 11 years. Phil recently jumped ship as an AGR soldier in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and re-enlisted in the Big Army with 17 years of active-duty service. Jolene and Phil have an elementary-aged son, Finn, who loves legos, math, and reading.
Jolene enjoys traveling, reading, and making allergy-friendly recipes for Finn. Despite her introverted nature, Jolene loves hosting friends and family. You can find her volunteering or playing with a pup or two during her spare time. Find her on Instagram @jolenemichelle1.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Anna Larson
Anna is a 14-year military spouse, homeschool mom of two amazing kids, fur baby owner, and entrepreneur. She started her own business after nearly 20 years in marketing and program management. NomadAbout helps businesses with copywriting, social media management, and marketing strategies. She contributes monthly to a number of publications, hosts a weekly podcast and livestream business show called 15ish Minute Coffee Chat, sits on the board as the Director of Operations for a non-profit that offers support to cancer patients, and co-leads the Fort Hood chapter of the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs. In her spare time, she likes to travel the world with her family. You can find Anna on social media @iamnomadabout or visit her website.
Platoon Member of the Month: Elaina Kopp
Originally from Panama City, Florida, Elaina is 42 and married to her wonderful husband, Jason and they have two fantastic kids; an 11-year old daughter, Chloe, and a 5-year old son, Dylan. They are currently stationed at Fort Hood as of August 2020. Elaina shares that she has been attached to the military, literally all her life. Her father did 4 years active duty Army and then 20 years active duty Air Force, and she mainly grew up in Germany. Elaina’s husband enlisted after they married in 2015. Elaina proudly states that she is definitely 100% patriot!
As a military spouse, Fort Hood is their newest duty station. They have been stationed at Fort Polk and while there, her husband PCS’d to Korea for one year before they moved to Hood. She and the kids stayed behind at Fort Polk while her husband was overseas. Elaina also shares that she finds military life very satisfying, fulfilling and quite enjoyable. Lastly, she states that being a military wife is very different from being a military kid however she is thrilled to be able to help their kids cope with military life by sharing her experiences with them. At Fort Polk with my husband’s company, she was the alternate treasure for the SFRG and she is now looking to become a part of the SFRG with her husband’s current unit. Elaina recently signed up to volunteer with the Fort Hood USO, and she shares that she is very excited about that!
Everyday Empowerment: Kindra Carroll
March Recipients
Command Team Member MRE: Kayla Geblein
Kayla currently lives with her husband in Fort Benning, Georgia. She is a dog mom to her two pups, Ralph and Georgia. Kayla graduated from Niagara University with a Bachelors in Social Studies Education and Special Education and then attained her masters in Literacy Education. She has taught in Georgia and at her previous duty station, Fort Bliss. Originally from Buffalo, New York Kayla and her husband are very avid Buffalo Bills fans and try to attend as many games as they can! After living in Texas, she found a new love for barbecue and has since become quite good at smoking her own meats. Kayla enjoys reading and doing puzzles but when the husband is around, they enjoy movies and an occasional video game. Volunteering has been a part of her life as far back as she can remember and she is very excited to start with AWN.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Scot Shumski
Scot hails from the former Republic of Vermont where his family goes back more than seven generations. Currently, he lives in the Bavarian region of Germany with his wife of more than 15 years and their three children. Previous stops on the thrill seeking rollercoaster ride of life include: Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Scot has visited all fifty United States and twenty countries. He is currently working on a set of universally accepted parameters with his son, Hunter, to help travelers determine if they can count a destination as having been visited. Before moving back to the United States, Scot plans on visiting all 27 European Union member nations. Before leaving this world he hopes to visit every nation on Earth. You can find him on both Twitter and Instagram @ScotShumski or on his website where he documents his travels, marathons, national park visits, and thoughts on life.
Paradise for Scot has beaches where you can relax, national parks where you can camp, mountains to climb, marathons to run, foreign languages to learn, new foods to eat, and new and interesting people to meet!
AWN Empowers: Planting Roots
Planting Roots is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit organization founded in fall of 2014 by 11 military women. We have grown to an all-volunteer force of over forty military women and wives overseen by a Board of Directors.Empowerment Platoon Member: Carina Smith
Everyday Empowerment: Luana Donato
Luana Donato is from Switzerland. She met her husband Alberto while she was studying at the University of South Florida in 2013. Shortly after, their relationship formed and became long distance. In summer of 2016, her husband joined the army, which landed them first in Fort Lee, Virginia. Luana shares that the Fort Lee community was small with a tight-knit feel that helped her as she was now so far away from her family and friends in Switzerland. During her time there, she began to volunteer for ACS. After Fort Lee, they were assigned to Fort Bliss, TX for 3 years. The difference from Fort Lee to Fort Bliss was a shock at first, but Luana wanted to continue to be involved as a milspouse and volunteered with ACS again.
April Recipients:
AWN Empowers: Carrie Benick from Fort Bragg Armed Services YMCA
Carrie Benick was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana State University in 1995 with a degree in Elementary Education and married “LT Dan” that same year. She later earned her Master’s degree in Education from Indiana University. She has worked as an Elementary and Pre-K teacher, a Military Child Education Coalition Parent Facilitator, and now serves as the Community Relations Manager at the Armed Services YMCA Fort Bragg. She has always taken on leadership roles in her children’s school PTA’s, on installation Spouse’s Club boards, in addition to supporting unit SFRG’s in various capacities. Her greatest achievements are being a wife and mother. She and her husband have been married 25 years and have a son in college, a daughter in high school, and a golden retriever named Daisy.
Command Team Member MRE: Sarah Peachey
Band of Bloggers MRE: Kathleen Palmer
Kathleen has been an Army wife for more than 21 years. It is a role that she never envisioned for herself, but now she can’t imagine not being a part of the Army life. She holds many titles: teacher, coach, adoptive parent, writer, volunteer, and a lover of the Lord, her family, and her friends. Kathleen is always ready with a patient ear, a big heart, and a strong cup of coffee. She has been writing for many years but just recently decided to share her ideas with the world.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Anastassia Kennedy
Anastassia shares that she has been an army wife for almost 4 years and a mother to two handsome young men. She is and was a military child. The army has been a part of her entire life. Anastassia was born and raised in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Both of her parents were active-duty soldiers stationed at Bragg for the remainder of their careers. After she graduated, she figured her army life time was over until she met her (now) husband in 2016. Oddly enough, he was stationed at Bragg when they met. Now that she is a spouse, she is experiencing the Army in a different way. She shares that she always tries to see and find the positive side of this life and make it as easy as she possibly can for herself and family. They are currently at their 3rd duty station, in Illinois. The area in which they live in is very peaceful and close to a lot of activities for her family to enjoy. She does miss the convenience of the PX, walking tracks and easily being able to make friends with other spouses, but she is making the best of the time they have there. Anastassia is so thankful for her friends from our last duty station in El Paso as they continue to be a positive force for her. Anastassia enjoys crocheting, cooking, and going for walks. You can often find her crocheting during the day or doing a mommy-and-me activity with her 3-year-old. She believes that being an Army spouse is a blessing. She can meet new people and explore new places. Anastassia cannot wait to see what the future has in store for herself and her family!Everyday Empowerment: Mary Lewis
Mary Lewis shares that she will never forget the first time she met her husband Jesse while in college, 2007. On their first date, he wanted her to know he was in the Army. Mary did not think anything of it, and she never knew anyone in the service so did not know what to expect. After he went away to training for 4 months, she began to understand the commitment. A few years later, they went through a one-year deployment in 2013, many trainings, events and multiple calls for a state active-duty response. Now, she could not imagine what life would be like without the friends and community they have held over the years. She has learned to adapt to the military life and proud to introduce it to their two children!
May Recipients:
AWN Empowers: The Centurion Project
The Centurion Project exists to network and empower churches to strengthen and support military leaders and their families in their mission and the Great Commission. They currently have 16 churches in their network and host training experiences every trimester at different churches around Fort Bragg called Centurion Summits. They investigate and recommend best practices for PSTD, Resiliency, Military Finances, and Muslim Evangelism. Be sure to check them out at www.centurionproject.net.
Command Team Member MRE: Sarah Robichaud
Sarah is a Maryland native who married her husband, Andrew, in 2012. Since then, she has had the opportunity to live at Fort Benning, Georgia (twice); Vilseck, Germany; Fort Bliss, Texas; and now lives in southern Virginia where her husband teaches ROTC. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Salisbury University and a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Liberty University. The majority of Sarah’s time is spent rocking the stay-at-home-mom life with her two amazing children, Emily (5) and Logan (2). She also has two small dogs and an out-of-control vegetable garden. During her free time, you can probably find Sarah out for a jog or playing at the beach.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Dakota Bazzell
Dakota is fairly new to the military way of life. She joined the Army Reserves three years ago, and it’s been one of the best learning experiences she’s had so far. She grew up in a small town in Central Illinois. Since then she’s lived in Texas and most recently moved to Fairbanks, Alaska. Currently, she’s enrolled at the University of Fairbanks and works full-time at an Assisted Living home. When she isn’t studying or working, you can find her cooking up something new in the kitchen, working out, or spending as much time as possible outdoors.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Venessa Gonzalez
Venessa Gonzalez is a stay-at-home wife and mom. She has many years of experience in early childhood education and previously worked at the CDC. School closed and they opted out for virtual learning and committed to a homeschool program instead. Homeschool had a few bumps and learning curves but they enjoyed it. Their daughter Lana Rae is happy and they have decided to homeschool for another year. Life has hit her with some heavy stones in the past years but turning 40 this past January has changed all of that. Her goal this year is to say YES! To try new things and to experience and welcome new adventures. “You have to take a risk to go on an adventure!” -Disney’s OnwardVenessa’s husband joined the Army a little later than most. He was 32 when he joined, and she was 33 at home with their firstborn. Although him joining the army wasn’t something either of them originally wanted, Venessa says her husband joining the Army was the overall best decision. This lifestyle comes with its set of challenges, and it’s not always pleasant. Hurry up and wait…as you know! BUT, when she looks at her now 7 year old, she can say with 100% accuracy, she is taken care of, which is the most important thing.
With her husband getting ready to deploy, she feels she is a stronger person today than she was 6 years ago, and she knows she can handle this first deployment standing tall with her head held high. Having access to a support system the Army can provide means she won’t feel completely lost. More importantly, her support system of family and friends will provide her with strength and courage to power and push through her darkest hours. Venessa states: “I am a milspouse, milmom, and milfriend and more importantly I am me!”
Everyday Empowerment: Charlsey Mahle
Charlsey Mahle shares that she overcame a few obstacles of growing up in a dysfunctional household, played sports, got accepted, went to, and graduated from West Point in 2004. She met her husband at Fort Hood in 2006 while they were both serving in the Army in 4ID, and they deployed a couple times to Iraq. Charlsey got out of the Army in 2012 and received a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from Auburn. She has served as a volunteer in every unit they’ve been in since then. Right now, they are currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth where her husband will attend the War College (course for COL’s) this fall. She is currently working as an Executive Assistant at a Financial Planning Firm in DC (District Capital Management). She volunteers there as a Sunday School teacher and as a mentor to the Pre-Command Course Spouses.
June Recipients:
Command Team Member: Angie Andrews
Angie is a lucky lady. Lucky, and blessed to be a wife and an Army wife to boot. She lives in Japan with her husband and two cats, Hunter and Matthews. Angie and her husband were married in 2013, and he began his military career in 2008. They met in Florida, and Angie hopes they will live off the Gulf Coast within walking distance to the beach one day. Along with the beach, Angie loves to have a good laugh, a good friend, and a good read or write. She has some serious favorites: food—macaroni and cheese, music—Tom Petty, workout—elliptical miles. Angie graduated from UCF with a degree in Elementary Education and taught for seven years, five of those years as a first grade teacher, and the last two as a reading coach. She has a collection of other jobs before and after teaching as well. Presently, she works as a writer and editor. Angie is thrilled to be a part of the Army Wife Network blog contributors and invites your thoughts and responses. You can reach out to her on Twitter @wifeitupwife. Angie also serves as AWN’s Assistant Content Editor.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Alika Schwartz
Alika is a proud Army spouse, veteran, and mother to three. A paralegal by trade with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and a Master of Science in Nonprofit Administration. Alika enjoys creating affordable ways for her children to learn and express themselves. As a military spouse, there is something about turning the ordinary into extraordinary, filling her home with love, laughter, and memories. She loves crafting, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. You can follow Alika on Instagram @sincerely.schwartz.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Brooklyn Morgan
Brooklyn is a Reading Interventionist for Kindergarten through 2nd grade, mom of two, and wife of almost 13 years to her high-school sweetheart. She earned a BS in Early Childhood Education, MSE in Educational Leadership, an ESL and Dyslexia endorsement, and is currently working on her doctorate of education with an emphasis on educational leadership, technology, and autism.Everyday Empowerment: Megan Clayburn
July Recipients:
Command Team Member MRE: Brittney O’Keefe
A native to Northwest Indiana and the greater Chicago region, Brittney is a graphic designer and illustrator. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Fine Arts and currently works as a prop maker, set builder, and scenic painter for theaters within the Chicagoland area. She is newly wed to her best-friend-turned-husband and just beginning her adventure as a military spouse.
When she isn’t designing or making new things, Brittney can often be found getting her hands dirty in garden plots, working out at the gym, or co-hosting with her husband on their podcast about retro video games. Brittney is an advocate for sustainable, clean gardening and has volunteered with the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms network in the past.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Anastassia Kennedy
Anastassia shares that she has been an army wife for almost 4 years and a mother to two handsome young men. She is and was a military child. The army has been a part of her entire life. Anastassia was born and raised in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Both of her parents were active-duty soldiers stationed at Bragg for the remainder of their careers. After she graduated, she figured her army life time was over until she met her (now) husband in 2016. Oddly enough, he was stationed at Bragg when they met. Now that she is a spouse, she is experiencing the Army in a different way. She shares that she always tries to see and find the positive side of this life and make it as easy as she possibly can for herself and family. They are currently at their 3rd duty station, in Illinois. The area in which they live in is very peaceful and close to a lot of activities for her family to enjoy. She does miss the convenience of the PX, walking tracks and easily being able to make friends with other spouses, but she is making the best of the time they have there. Anastassia is so thankful for her friends from our last duty station in El Paso as they continue to be a positive force for her. Anastassia enjoys crocheting, cooking, and going for walks. You can often find her crocheting during the day or doing a mommy-and-me activity with her 3-year-old. She believes that being an Army spouse is a blessing. She can meet new people and explore new places. Anastassia cannot wait to see what the future has in store for herself and her family!
Empowerment Platoon Member: Gwen Campbell
Gwen has been an Army wife for 17 years and is still going strong. She launched her own LLC named ION Brands. The Brands have different divisions that make up who she is: a realtor with ION Properties, a baker with ION Desserts, and an event coordinator with ION Events. All sitting under the ION Brands name where they make up a touch of home & hospitality. Gwen shares that she loves to bring a touch of home & hospitality to every duty station she goes. Every location’s “hospitality” can mean something different and she enjoys the pleasure (yes, a pleasure!) of PCSing and finding those differences. If it’s a promotion ceremony, an SFRG event or a backyard BBQ, she strives to elevate the situation and bring a sense of home to it. Gwen considers herself lucky that her husband’s job has no other choice but to move them around, and she loves it! She wouldn’t change her military family for anything.Everyday Empowerment: Linsee Wheat
Linsee has been a military spouse for 17 years! She loves being a part of the military community! She plants her roots and makes herself useful where ever they move! They’ve lived in 6 states, and they are always on the move! Linsee loves being active in SFRG and PWOC as well as coffee events!
That is of course when she is not chasing her 4 children around or attending another event with her spouse! She also holds the coveted shield of Sparta! Linsee loves being a military spouse!
August Recipients:
AWN Empowers: Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families (BSF) strengthens military families every day. Through career development, caregiving, and our leading research on military family life, we’re striving to better understand and provide solutions to the challenges facing today’s military families. In April of 2009, a group of military spouses got together in the hopes of making a difference in the lives of military families. They knew the issues surrounding military families and saw a need for a platform where military family members could join forces with the general public and their communities to address the challenges of military life. Since then, Blue Star Families has grown from a few military spouses around a kitchen table to more than 150,000 members and over 35 communities and chapters around the globe. Our programs and services reach more than 1.5 million military family members every year.
Command Team Member MRE: Brooklyn Morgan
Brooklyn is a Reading Interventionist for Kindergarten through 2nd grade, mom of two, and wife of almost 13 years to her high-school sweetheart. She earned a BS in Early Childhood Education, MSE in Educational Leadership, an ESL and Dyslexia endorsement, and is currently working on her doctorate of education with an emphasis on educational leadership, technology, and autism.Band of Bloggers MRE: LaVaughn Ricci
LaVaughn is originally from Michigan and met her husband while they were both students at Cedarville University in Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts, and she also studied bible, theatre, and American Sign Language. She is certified in Teaching English as a Second Language.
LaVaughn’s husband commissioned in the U.S. Army in 2004, and the two of them overcame a long-distance relationship through five different duty stations and two deployments before they finally married in 2011. Since then, they have been stationed at seven different installations together, have had four incredible children (two born overseas), and have travelled a decent fraction of the world.
LaVaughn loves Jesus Christ, being an Army wife, adventuring with her family, musicals, chocolate, chai lattés, and a quality cup of decaf. She is a homeschooling mom who volunteers in SFRGs, PWOCs, and enjoys helping service members and their families whenever and however possible. She would enjoy connecting with you on Facebook.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Rachel Evans
Everyday Empowerment: Liz Boldt
Liz shares that she is 24 years old and her husband has served for 4 years. Their first duty station was South Korea, which made their most recent PCS to Fort Campbell much easier as they were coming back stateside. Liz says that the military has taught her just how important a support system is. She has met her best friends through the military. It is a hard life for sure but you learn how capable you are and make the most amazing friends who love and support you tremendously through it. Also choosing to be thankful and tell yourself you can do this makes a world of difference. Liz has 3 kids(ages 5,2,& 8 month) and has been married for 6 years.
September Recipients:
Command Team Member MRE: Chrissy Gibbs
Chrissy joined the military spouse life in 2010 when she married her favorite tanker. She knew that life would be more adventurous and sometimes more difficult, but it would always be worth it. She had previously received her Bachelor’s and Master’s from Niagara University in Special Education and spent a few years teaching, but once she began having children, she chose to put those talents to work in her own home. Chrissy is a mother to four energetic boys, and one husky pup, and the whole family is currently choosing to live small (to LIVE big) in an RV, with plenty of traveling adventures. Outside of the normal Army moves (Fort Knox, Fort Benning, Fort Bliss, and soon Fort Leavenworth), Chrissy and her family have visited 41 states, Canada, and Mexico during their road travels and hope to add some different countries to the list.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Scot Shumski
Scot hails from the former Republic of Vermont where his family goes back more than seven generations. Currently, he lives in the Bavarian region of Germany with his wife of more than 15 years and their three children. Previous stops on the thrill seeking rollercoaster ride of life include: Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Scot has visited all fifty United States and twenty countries. He is currently working on a set of universally accepted parameters with his son, Hunter, to help travelers determine if they can count a destination as having been visited. Before moving back to the United States, Scot plans on visiting all 27 European Union member nations. Before leaving this world he hopes to visit every nation on Earth. You can find him on both Twitter and Instagram @ScotShumski or on his website where he documents his travels, marathons, national park visits, and thoughts on life.
Paradise for Scot has beaches where you can relax, national parks where you can camp, mountains to climb, marathons to run, foreign languages to learn, new foods to eat, and new and interesting people to meet!
Empowerment Platoon Member: Kathleen Starling
Everyday Empowerment: Haley Frerichs
October Recipients:
Command Team Member MRE: Angie Andrews
Angie is a lucky lady. Lucky, and blessed to be a wife and an Army wife to boot. She lives in Japan with her husband and two cats, Hunter and Matthews. Angie and her husband were married in 2013, and he began his military career in 2008. They met in Florida, and Angie hopes they will live off the Gulf Coast within walking distance to the beach one day. Along with the beach, Angie loves to have a good laugh, a good friend, and a good read or write. She has some serious favorites: food—macaroni and cheese, music—Tom Petty, workout—elliptical miles. Angie graduated from UCF with a degree in Elementary Education and taught for seven years, five of those years as a first grade teacher, and the last two as a reading coach. She has a collection of other jobs before and after teaching as well. Presently, she works as a writer and editor. Angie is thrilled to be a part of the Army Wife Network blog contributors and invites your thoughts and responses. You can reach out to her on Twitter @wifeitupwife. Angie also serves as AWN’s Assistant Content Editor.
Band of Bloggers MRE: Anna Larson
Anna is a 14-year military spouse, homeschool mom of two amazing kids, fur baby owner, and entrepreneur. She started her own business after nearly 20 years in marketing and program management. NomadAbout helps businesses with copywriting, social media management, and marketing strategies.
She contributes monthly to a number of publications, hosts a weekly podcast and livestream business show called “15ish Minute Coffee Chat,” sits on the board as the Director of Operations for a non-profit that offers support to cancer patients, and co-leads the Fort Hood chapter of the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs. In her spare time, she likes to travel the world with her family. You can find Anna on social media @iamnomadabout or by visiting her website, www.nomadabout.com.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Wendy Butler
Wendy married her childhood sweetheart at 21 – they went to college-and graduated together – he was an ROTC success! And then, their life began. He went active duty in 1987 and they recently celebrated 35 years of marriage in August! It’s been a ride that she will always cherish! They had 3 beautiful babies in the early 90’s as they began his military career – without much thought she became a full-time supporter of all things family and military with our first duty station in the Cavalry! It was an amazing 20 year career with deployments beginning in Bosnia -separations including Korea then Kazakhstan with some stability In Kansas and Texas, then a deployment to Iraq with a homecoming to Germany (which is a special home-away from home). And finally, a retirement to the Department of Defense life. Wendy has always said “he retired but is still playing with his friends in the sandbox!” Of course he couldn’t stay on the sidelines so off to Afghanistan he went as a civilian in 2018! She is now a full-time Nana with a background in Elementary Education who wants nothing more than to be available to my children, grandchildren, family and friends as they live this life . She found Army Wife Network because apparently her role did not retire! Wendy says she needed the connection to those who know her – who know them!
Everyday Empowerment: Rebekah Baker
November Recipients:
AWN Empowers: Hope For The Warriors
Over 15 years ago, Robin Kelleher felt an urgency to help her best friend when her husband returned home after being wounded while serving in Iraq. Even though Kelleher’s husband was a Marine who had been deployed several times, she had never personally experienced the ordeal, hardship and heartbreak a wounded service member and their family must endure. She could not sit idly by. That friend, Shannon Maxwell, and Kelleher combined forces to help forge the future for Shannon’s husband, Tim, and countless other wounded military members. What began as the effort of two Marines’ wives soon became Hope For The Warriors, which has helped thousands of veterans, service members and their families over the past 15 years.
Since its inception in 2006, Hope For The Warriors has served more than 36,000 service members, veterans and military families. we can continue to provide hope for veterans, service members and military families.” The genesis of Hope For The Warriors was the realization that there was a gap in resources for every service member and military family in communities across the country. From that deficiency grew the belief that warriors can thrive with access to integrated services focused on individual and collective well-being. Hope For The Warriors uses a comprehensive approach to well-being though its programs, focusing on clinical health and wellness, sports and recreation and transition.Knowing the organization can’t tackle each need on its own, if Hope For The Warriors does not have a program that meets a specific need, team members can connect with one of the organization’s more than 100 Partners in Mission.
For more information on Hope For The Warriors or to apply for services, visit hopeforthewarriors.org.
Command Team Member MRE: Amber Peterson
Amber is originally from Colony, Kansas, and is currently living in South Korea with her husband, Tyrell, and daughter, Serenity. While living in South Korea, Amber has had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom. During that time, she has graduated college, started the Camp Humphreys Mom Meet-Up, and hosted the Camp Humphrey Spouses’ Social.
Amber also has a home-based business that she started after realizing there weren’t many options for the gluten-free community at Camp Humphreys. So Humphreys Gluten Free Treats was born and has now been up and running for a year. While the Peterson family has enjoyed their time in South Korea, they are eager to find out where the Army will send them next.
Empowerment Platoon Member: Patrick Bonbrisco
Here is what our current Empowerment Agent, Amanda Bicknese, says about her supportive father, Patrick Bonbrisco: “My very own father has been extremely empowering and supportive to my husband in the military and me as a milspouse. Growing up, our family didn’t have any military relationships or experience, so knowing that this is my dad’s first experience with anything military-related makes our family feel even more supported and recognized. My dad is always there for me when I need him the most- he is willing to stop everything in Florida and hop on a plane to wherever we are currently PCS’d in order to come help. He has been there for my daughter’s birth and through my husband’s deployment after she was born. I’m so appreciative of him, and I consider myself quite blessed to have a dad like him. Thanks for your love, support, and empowerment to me, my family, and to us gals here at Army Wife Network. It means a lot, dad!”
Everyday Empowerment: Sharita Knobloch
Sharita has been married to her beloved infantryman husband Brandon for over 10 years. The joys and challenges of this milspouse life ignited her faith on a deep level, so she answered the call to ministry in July 2011. Sharita holds a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in Animal Science & Industry (Communications Option, Leadership Minor), master’s degree in Christian Leadership from Liberty University and is currently in pursuit of her doctorate in Educational Counseling with an emphasis in Pastoral Counseling, also from Liberty University.
Sharita is a Tiny Human mama of two kiddos, an 8-year-old girl and a 4-year old boy. She is also a smallish-dog-owner, aspiring-runner, writer, speaker, and spiritual leadership coach. Sharita has been volunteering with AWN for more than 7 years, since February 2014, when she published her very first blog post. Since then, she has served on the Command Team as Blog Editor (Nov. 2015-March 2016), Executive Officer and Deputy Commander (March 2016-Sept. 2019), and in October 2019, transitioned into the role as AWN Owner and Commander. She is overjoyed to serve milspouses and their families in this capacity. In 2020, she was named Armed Forces Insurance Fort Bliss Military Spouse of the Year.
Sharita gets really excited about office supplies and journal shopping. She is a certified auctioneer, wore duct tape to senior prom (for a scholarship contest #DontJudge), loves napping, fitness, reading for fun, and cheering others on as they strive to reach their goals. Sharita overuses hashtags on a regular basis with #NoShame and frequently uses #America! as a verb.
