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179th AW holds ‘Spring into Summer’ Event

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joe Harwood
  • 179th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Mansfield, Ohio --  The 179th Airlift Wing, Mansfield, OH, hosted a "Spring into Summer" event, June 7, 2014. The event is designed to teach and prepare military families for any emergency that might arise. The event encouraged the base members and their family to come out for a day to get affairs in order and enjoy a day of fun as well. It is vital that members take care of their paperwork, legal documentation, wills and power of attorney before an issue occurs. As the saying goes, it is important that a family has their house in order. No member wants a loved one feeling alone in a time of need. The goal for the day was knowledge and knowledge is preparedness. The base looked like a fair as representatives set up tents to help spread the word on benefits and services available to them that they may not be utilizing. There is a resource, a benefit, an office or a person available for any wish.
Mrs. Faline Rowland, 179th Airlift Wing Airman & Family Readiness Program
Manager said "My hope for the day was to spread the knowledge of every resource available to the families of our members and have fun at the same time. It was a day to build relationships and make connections. No one should be afraid to ask for help. Members need to constantly think about keeping up to date and make sure that their wishes will be kept. It's not just about deployments; readiness is all the time, even for something as important as identity theft."

To start the afternoon, Susan Bogan of The Survivor Outreach Service held a special meeting to spread awareness of the program designed to help cope with the loss of service member or to help a service member who is dealing with loss themselves. Major General Mark Bartman, Assistant Adjutant General-Air, Ohio National Guard, joined the briefing and encouraged members to use the program. Some of the other representatives available to talk to throughout the day were Red Cross, 179th AW Family Programs, The State of Ohio Attorney General, 179th AW Legal, 179th AW Finance, Military One Source, Veterans Administration (VA), Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR), TriCare, 179th AW Force Support Squadron, and so much more.
Following Susan Bogan's program, Maj. Gen. Bartman presented state level awards to individuals and families for involvement in the Airman and Family Readiness Center (AFRC). Among those honored were Donna Baki for Volunteer of the year for the second year in a row; The Amert Family for Family of the year; and Vice Commander Col. Michael Howard for Commander of the year for over 10 years of Family Programs support. The highlight of the day was the 5k run and Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Almeda kicked off the 5k with his version of the National Anthem on an electric guitar over the loud speakers in an outstanding opening ceremony. Over 200 people signed up to run the 5k on base. The runners sported the "Spring into Summer" event logo "Sweat Rainbows" and were dowsed in color powder as they ran.
Major Kelly Shifflet,
The "Spring into Summer" event was a large success, with mission readiness improved by those who updated paperwork and those that learned about the benefits and services that they may ultimately need left with peace of mind that 179th Airlift Wing aims to take care of their family.

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