I have had the honor of being nominated by my husband for this prestigious award. The voting ends December 24th at 12pm EST for the 2009 Military Spouse of the Year Branch Finalist! Once the finalist are chosen from each Branch the voting will open up again on January 22 to find the woman to represent the Military Spouse.
The Woman that is voted MSOY will be asked to Blog and write in a column for Military Spouse magazine for a year. Currently I am in 3rd place out of 10, so I need your help! Please go to www.msoy.milspouse.com and register once to verify your email is correct (they do not send you anything!) then log in and click on Army and vote for Thea A. You can only vote 1 time every 8 hours. I really need the boost, can you help get me there? Here is my husband’s essay he wrote that got my nomination and
I was asked to write something personal once they called to inform me that they chose me to be 1 of the 10:
Vote for the 2009 Army Military Spouse of the Year
Thea A.
Fort Campbell
Clarksville, TN
Nominated by: Arthur A.
Number of Years as a Military Spouse: 19
Personal Quote:
“As I look down at hands that aren’t so young anymore, I ask myself what have I done to deserve such a nomination as Military Spouse of the Year? I was given a call to duty over 19 years ago. I serve alongside my husband with Pride and humility. I serve alongside you, the Spouse, with tears, hope and strength. Like many of you, these hands held the hands of the man I love not knowing if there would be a next time. I am humbled and honored to be among you as One of the Strong. I will always have the passion for the Military Spouse and bring awareness to who we are and what we do. LNSDQ! ”
Nomination Essay:
Military life is all Thea has known. Born into a military family her father, Retired CW3 Long, was a founding Night Stalker. As a military teen she had been through Foster care while in Korea due to a step-father’s abuse, while her mother was away. When she came home to the US and graduated High School, she married me, at age 18, just a PFC. By age 23 she had given birth to our 3 children. Thea always made our living quarters a home, no matter how big our place was. We had it rough for awhile. To the point of having to be on welfare stamps, which was very humiliating to us both, but it helped us get ahead to where we no longer needed the help. When we got orders to Germany, she had to take our 2-1/2 year old, 1 year old, 2 month old, and 2 dogs through Dallas/Ft.Worth and Germany by herself. Within a week, she was by herself with 2 toddlers and an infant in a foreign land. Thea is a survivor and made friends fast and soon became a volunteer for the Red Cross, earning her an award and pin. She volunteered as Newsletter Editor, Secretary, Vice-President, and President for PWOC in the 3 years we were in Germany. She always gave of herself, sacrificing her dream to be a dedicated Spouse and raise our children, all with a smile on her face and heart. See, her dream was to sing in the big arena. I am writing you because we all sacrifice something. I know our Spouses are fighting here on the Home front. My wife has sacrificed her dream. I saw this and tried to bring it back to life. I am with the 160th and when I shared a tape of her singing, 9 years ago, they asked her to sing the National Anthem. She started receiving requests to sing for Change of Commands, Memorials, Formals, Change of Responsibilities, Retirement Ceremonies, September 11th Remembrance Ceremony, Distinguished Service Cross Ceremony, etc… When asked what she wanted to be paid, Thea offered her services free and said it would be an honor. They started giving her Unit coins. The 160th asked the Nashville Preditors to allow Thea to represent our Unit Spouses during the opening season of 2007-2008. Now she is being asked to sing for the Nascar’s Hot Shot Qualifications at this year’s Sprint Cup. She is on a journey of singing and people are taking notice. Thea’s image and whole being is Military. She is going into Nashville as a Military Spouse, Representing the Spouses of our Military. She comes with a drive and determination to make a difference in the vast majority of lives out there. To bring hope to our Spouses, that dreams don’t have to die when you sacrifice. Thea could have given up on her dream to sing but she is a Lady Night Stalker and you must know that Night Stalkers Don’t Quit!
There is only 4 days left!
This is an important award for any Military Spouse. If you have time, please register and vote!
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