Friday, May 10, was recognized as Military Spouse Appreciation Day throughout the nation. Traditionally held the Friday before Mother’s Day, this special day is designated to say “thank you” for the selfless service of the men and women who provide consistent support to their loved ones—our military service members. While they are providing critical mission support in the defense of our country, the spouses remain at home keeping the family on stable footing.
This year, USAA held a unique employee-only event to honor the military spouses who work within their organization and invited Lori Stinson, the Chamber’s Vice President for Military Affairs and Leadership Development, to offer keynote remarks and share her experiences as a military spouse navigating career and family. She also highlighted the unique opportunities that the Chamber provides to our members when it comes to supporting the military and their quality of life.
Organized by USAA’s VETnet group and supported by USAA’s Military Affairs team, the event was open to USAA employees working within their headquarters, in addition to their distributed workforce that was watching from regional office locations and work from home employees. VETNet, one of USAA’s Employee Resource Groups (ERG), supports more than 7000 veterans and military spouses and is responsible for keeping military culture alive by affording employees opportunities to connect with and learn from speakers who share their stories of military life.
Stinson relayed her journey through multiple duty stations on Air Force, Navy, and Army bases and across the United States and Germany over her 23 years as an Army wife. She also talked of the challenges of keeping a meaningful career with frequent moves. Recognizing the sporadic holes in her resume and the inconsistent opportunities for “paid” employment, Stinson embarked on a near 20 year professional Volunteer Career that was much more portable. “Volunteering provided me a way to keep up important skills in public speaking, servant leadership, and community engagement and also led me to this fantastic position at the Chamber,” Stinson said.
From helping to manage important family programs for the Army, instructing and training future senior spouse leaders at the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, PA, and volunteering in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to name a few, Stinson’s experience is not unique. “Military spouses hit the ground running since their time in a community is relatively short,” relayed Stinson. “And being a part of the Chamber now is a perfect opportunity to apply all of these skills in a wide variety of areas, including managing volunteers and making connections between our military community and our business investors. I’m honored to be able to bring my passion for supporting military families and service members to my work here at the Chamber.”
