2012 Military Spouse of the Year : Baseguide

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Jeremy Hilton

2012 Military Spouse of the Year 2012 Air Force Spouse of the Year
Lieutenant Colonel Renae Hilton
Joint Base Andrews, Va.

Area of focus: Advocating for military families impacted by illness or disability.

With the power of the Military Spouse of the Year organization behind him, he’s excited about pushing further with his ongoing efforts to better the lives of military families involved in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP), dealing with medical challenges or caring for wounded warriors. He currently coordinates a national push for legislation and has spoken before the Congressional Military Family Caucus, numerous congressional delegations and staffers on the Armed Services Committee, HELP Committee, Judiciary Committee and in the White House. Jeremy’s objective is to ensure that policy issues are fixed to guarantee that military families are treated equitably in spite of any special needs circumstances. Through baseguide.com and Military Spouse magazine, he will be able to communicate directly with military spouses throughout the community about progress on these crucial issues.

In his own words: “We’re standing on the shoulders of the spouses who came before us and got us to the spot we’re at… I’ve told more than a couple of people that we have an obligation to advance the ball 10 more yards down the field for the next folks.”

El Brown

2012 Army Spouse of the Year
Major Ricky Brown
Fort Belvoir, Va.

Area of Focus: Education and Child Development

El Brown is spearheading the Military Parents Empowerment Workshop Series (MPEWS), which would be added to the list of programs under Family Advocacy for the military. With a focus on the unique needs of our military children, MPEWS would provide military families with information and tools to strongly support their children’s development. The MPEWS program would teach parents to be their children’s primary advocate and personal educator. With more than a decade of teaching and professional child development experience, El aims to partner with Family Advocacy to pilot the MPEWS as soon as possible at Fort Belvoir, Va. She then plans to expand that pilot project into a military-wide training curriculum and program, using the platform of baseguide.com and Military Spouse magazine, and the opportunity to speak publicly as part of the Military Spouse of the Year organization to spread the word among military families.

In her own words: “Knowledge is power. Parents need and deserve quality programming that will give them access to strategies and skills that they can use to help them help their little ones maximize their personal potential.”

Stephanie Geraghty

2012 Marine Corps Spouse of the Year
Gunnery Sergeant Brian Geraghty
Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Area of Focus: Health and Fitness

Stephanie Geraghty aims to expand her already existing Stroller Warriors—a free running club that offers inspiration and fund-raising along with a solid workout—to installations worldwide. She plans to publish a Stroller Warriors Running Club Handbook to guide spouses wishing to begin their own local clubs. With insight from her son’s personal challenges, she has made including children in Stroller Warriors a focus. She also will focus on healthy living issues, including mutual support, goal-setting, fostering friendship and including children as a way to reach fulfillment in a military life. She intends to promote Stroller Warriors’ primary mission of offering evening workouts for working parents, as well as group activities including Bible studies and book clubs. Military Spouse magazine and baseguide.com will serve as crucial vehicles for sharing her message with the entire community.

In her own words: “During our fourth deployment in 2010, I achieved a lifelong goal of completing the Marine Corps Marathon. Crossing that finish line was a defining moment for me, proving I could achieve great things under great burdens.”

Tricia Ross

2012 Navy Spouse of the Year
Lieutenant Jeffrey Ross
Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Area of focus: Literacy and Education

Tricia Ross is a longtime advocate for military children’s literacy. In her role as the “Books on Bases” program manager for Blue Star Families, she has overseen more than 80 events nationwide, distributing over 24,000 books and impacting the lives of more than 128,000 military children. Her dream is that military children receive the same quality education as their civilian peers, and that parents take an active role in their children’s education, valuing learning and literacy in their homes early. She will focus on building better library collections at military installations, Department of Defense schools and in military-impacted communities. She will also use the influence of the Military Spouse of the Year organization to raise awareness of the gap in education between military and civilian children through public speaking at high-profile events and meetings with key decision-makers.

In her own words: “I tend to take a backseat to the spotlight because that is where I like the view: Watching those I love and support take their moments of success and enjoy every second of it. The greatest gift military life has given me is a vast list of experiences that have shaped me into the woman I am today and taught me the skill set to raise four children. Children who have hearts like no other, compassion beyond their years, a strong concept of the importance of education, volunteerism and service—all things that I value in a person.”

Jennifer Bassett

2012 Coast Guard Spouse of the Year
Chief Petty Officer Josh Bassett
Coast Guard Cutter Alert, Astoria, Ore.

Areas of focus: National Support for Military Families

Jennifer is passionate about promoting legislation that will help military spouses achieve their education and career goals, and helping more spouses get involved in mentorship relationships. Her primary goal for the coming year is working toward having military spouses declared a protected class under the Civil Rights Act (Title VII). She also will propose a comprehensive Military Family Bill that addresses the key areas of national education standardization, licensing and certification support and education credit transferability. Through the community of Military Spouse magazine readers and baseguide.com users, she will galvanize support for these ambitious initiatives. Jennifer will also be able to use the influence of the Military Spouse of the Year organization to draw national media attention to her goals and to meet with top-ranking decision-makers.

In her own words: “This life certainly is not easy, but I make the most of it and cherish each wonderful created memory on this wild ride.”

Christine Gilbreath

2012 National Guard Spouse of the Year
Staff Sergeant William (Scott) Gilbreath
Redmond Taylor Heliport, Grand Prairie, Texas

Area of focus: Support for New Spouses

As our first National Guard Spouse of the Year, Christine plans to develop and implement a military-wide New Spouse Welcome Program (NSWP) to quickly link new military families with resources, information and mentorship. It will be open not just to newly recruited families, but also to anyone not closely connected to an installation community. This family-friendly program, hosted quarterly by all branches, can provide access to senior spouses, military-friendly community partners, and education and employment resources. Christine and her husband were both previously active-duty Army, so she has experienced military life outside the National Guard. But her Guard experience has brought great insight into the unique challenges Guard and Reserve families face. Military Spouse magazine and baseguide.com will be key components in developing and publicizing the NSWP, and the public platform her new title provides will help Christine garner military and civilian support for this initiative.

In her own words: “I love and need to be involved! If it is helping a soldier or family member with benefits or questions, introducing community members to the joys of local military support, promoting our battalion on the state and national level, planning a battalion-wide spouse luncheon, or organizing a battalion holiday party for 1,000 people, I love to be actively involved in a project.”

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