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JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Army spouse Corie
Weathers was named 2015 Military Spouse of the Year during
the 8th Annual Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the
Year ceremony May 8, 2015 on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base
Myer-Henderson Hall.
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May 8, 2015 - Deanie Dempsey (far right), wife of Gen. Martin E.
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presents the
Military Spouse of the Year award to Corie Weathers (second rgiht)
in the Officers' Club on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base
Myer-Henderson Hall. Others in the photos from left to right are
retired Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks, Corir's sons (Jackson,and Aidan,
and Corie's husband, Army Capt. Matthew Weathers, a chaplain on Fort
Gordon, Ga. (Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall PAO photo by Damien
Salas)
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The ceremony recognizes military
spouses' contributions to their families, the military
community and the nation by selecting an exemplary spouse
from each of the military's six branches. From those six, an
overall national honoree is chosen.
Corie is a
licensed therapist and the wife of Army Capt. Matthew
Weathers, a chaplain at Fort Gordon, Ga. There she uses her
degree to provide counseling to both service members and
their families.
During her husband's first
deployment to Afghanistan, Corie counseled spouses whose
service members had died in the line of duty. She and her
husband also host weekend retreats for military couples to
help strengthen and grow their marriages.
Corie said
she tries to bring happiness and comfort to those in need
through simple connection.
“Joy comes from
connection, and it comes through empathy in that moment
where you sit across from someone and you look in their eyes
and they go ‘me too,'” she said after receiving the honor.
“Out of that joy we go and we inspire other people. My goal
every day is to love other people and hopefully somebody
walks away from taking a moment to be with me feeling more
loved than when they first came.”
Kate Dolack,
editor-in-chief of Military Spouse magazine, said the
military spouse of the year from each of the six branches
were incredible people.
“I'm standing in front of
some of the nation's most remarkable individuals,” she said.
“These six women are some of the most passionate, driven and
exemplary individuals I have ever had the pleasure of
knowing ... They love their communities, they hold them up and
support them in times of need.”
The other branch
winners and overall nominees were:
- Air Force: Jana
Kingery
- Coast Guard: Stacey Benson
- National Guard:
Julia Kysela
- Navy: Antonia Wilber
- Marine Corps: Nicole
Spaid
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Garry L. Parks,
chairman of Armed Forces Insurance, said the six branch
nominees had been chosen from more than one million military
spouses, representing the “best of the best.”
But he
sang the praises of those million other spouses who, along
with their service members, serve their nation every day.
“As military families best understand, spouses also
serve,” Parks said. “The modern day military spouse ... has
been an unsung hero and has endured countless deployments
while often still maintaining a full-time job...Beyond any
doubt, our nation's military family is far stronger today
due to the love, support and phenomenal contributions of the
military spouse.”
The ceremony also featured a new
award: The Gabby Giffords Award for courage and bravery. It
was presented to Taya Kyle, widow of Navy Seal Chris Kyle,
author of American Sniper and subject of the Academy Award
nominated film of the same name.
Notable attendees
included Navy Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval
operations; Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Ronald Green; Col.
Mike Henderson, JBM-HH commander; Deanie Dempsey, wife of
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin E. Dempsey; Linda
Odierno, wife of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno; Ellyn
Dunford, wife of Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph
Dunford; and more.
Learn
more about the Military Spouse of the Year awards.
By Guv Callahan
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
U.S. Army
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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