MilSpouseFest traveled to the north country on October 21 to host the final in-person event for the year, located at the scenic 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, New York.
Presented by USAA, MilSpouseFest had a full agenda of speakers and giveaways. Keynote speaker, Executive Director of Partners in Promise Michelle Norman, talked about how to “Turn the Unexpected into Opportunities” by finding yourself, protecting yourself, and sharing yourself. “See every challenge, every unexpected obstacle as an opportunity,” she said.
“I gained a better understanding of what services are available to spouses and that many of the day to day things we deal with are more commonplace than I would have thought,” said one attendee. “Especially for the younger spouses, the information is highly informative. I would have loved to have it when I first got married 16 years ago.”
Other speaking segments included Mj Boice and Jenah Wieczorek from PCSgrades, Lisa Howard from The Barry Robinson Center via recorded video, Maureen Haney from Tutor.com, and JJ Montanaro from USAA. A new segment for MilSpouseFest events, Building Connections, was focused on networking spouses need to help them transition to a new location, or to find employment. Chuck Bunch of USAA and Michelle Norman were interviewed by our Director, Julie Shepard, with questions submitted by the audience.
“Milspouse was a fun and easy way to learn about the benefits of being a military spouse” said another attendee.
“Thank you so much for hosting,” an attendee told the MSF team. “I learned about resources I never knew existed. 10+ years and I’m still learning about Military life!”
MilSpouseFest would like to thank USAA and its many sponsors for their generous help to make these in-person events a success. MilSpouseFest extends a special thank you to FTD for their generous donation of flowers.