The National

Council of Coast Guard

Spouses’ Clubs

www.nationalcouncilofcgsc.org

MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR

By now, some of you are finding out where the

next chapter of your Coast Guard life will be.

While many of you might be old hands at the PCS,

for some of you, this will be a new adventure. As

we have said before, no problem is new, just new

to you. If this is your first move, don’t be afraid to

ask questions, either of your fellow Spouses’ Club

members or us (use Facebook, our website or

email to contact us). And if you’ve racked up a

double-digit number of moves, be proactive and

reach out to the less experienced. Maybe your

Club can hold a PCS night out – you can tell them

your secrets to a successful move and they can

ask questions of you. There is nothing like telling

your story to help you get to know each other!

As you can see from the next article, the National

Council recently modified our by-laws to include

the spouse of the Reserve Force Master Chief as

one of our Advisory Board members. The role of our

Advisory Board is to provide guidance on how best

to support all aspects of the Coast Guard family

when it comes to Spouses’ Clubs. We made this

change to reflect that many clubs allow Reserve

spouses as members. The relationships gained by

welcoming Reserve spouses bring valuable ties

and resources from the community. In turn, a

Reserve spouse gains valuable insight into the

Coast Guard way of life and new friendships are

forged. You can reach out to your command to

find out when the Reserves will next be drilling and

ask to say a few words about your Club and

consider offering flyers, business cards or a recent

newsletter for their families. Our clubs are stronger

with unique points of view!

National Council Welcomes Honorary Advisor Valerie Johnson to Board

The National Council is pleased to welcome Valerie

Johnson as our newest Honorary Advisor. Johnson

has been a Coast Guard spouse since 2000. While

supporting her husband’s military career, Valerie

answered her nation’s call and enlisted in the New

Hampshire Air National Guard, where she served for

12 years. She was honorably discharged after

completing a tour in Iraq in 2008 and earning the

rank of Master Sergeant in 2012. Valerie under-

stands our Coast Guard families and advocates for

them in her role as one of the Coast Guard’s

Ombudsman at Large. Valerie’s passion is for our

deployed service members and their families. She

works extensively with the DOD’s Yellow Ribbon

Reintegration Program, whose goal is to promote

the well-being of National Guard and Reserve

members. Valerie is married to Coast Guard

Reserve Force Master Chief Eric Johnson. They are

the proud parents of four children.

Read more to find out about your Coast Guard Spouses’ Clubs’ activities this quarter!

Thank you for your continued support of your Coast Guard Spouses’ Clubs!

IN THIS ISSUE

Message from our Chair 1

Welcome Valerie Johnson 1

Club Spotlight 2

Hiring our Heroes 3

Nominations for Council 3

Important Links 4

USCG HSWL App 4

National Council Information 4

Each quarter the National Council of Coast Guard Spouses’

Clubs will feature and recognize one of the Coast Guard

Spouses’ Clubs for their outstanding service. This quarter we

highlight the North Bay Coast Guard Spouses Club, submitted

by Club President, Jill Everingham:

The North Bay Coast Guard Spouses’ Club is a unique group

whose membership is comprised of spouses from multiple Bay

Area Coast Guard units, supporting each other in making the

Bay Area feel like home.

One of our primary goals is to look for opportunities to partner

with our local community. A great example of this outreach is

our involvement with Wreaths Across America. This fundraiser

and club event combines raising money for our scholarship

program while at the same time increasing the visibility of the

military in our area. The program helps honor the sacrifices of

our fallen Vets to ensure that they may never be forgotten. This

December, North Bay participated with our families and Coast

Guard service members in the ceremonial laying of the wreaths

at San Francisco’s National Cemetery in the Presidio.

Other community outreach activities include: Feed My Starving

Children Mobile Pack Event, www.fmsc.org, and Safe & Sober

Grad of Novato, another non-profit organization that works with

our public schools to provide a safe alternative for graduating

seniors to celebrate with friends on their graduation night.

In addition to community involvement, our club programs and

activities include:

Layette - “Welcome Baby” basket of goodies for CG families

Sunshine – Deliver meals to families in need of a little “sunshine”

Book Club – Meets monthly

Playgroup – Meets weekly

Children’s Holiday Parties

Ladies Night Out

Scholarship Program – A monetary award is given each spring to a

club member or dependent to support their path for higher education

or help pay for extra-curricular activities.

Fundraising – We have recently held two successful fundraisers:

Members designed and created a North Bay CG T-shirt for sale.

NBCGSC Cookbook – Compiled recipes and published for sale.

If you would like to find out more about our club or our activities,

please contact us at nbcgspousesclub@gmail.com.

To support the North Bay Coast

Guard Spouses Club’s Wreaths

Across America effort, please

click here.

North Bay Coast Guard Spouses’ Club

SPOTLIGHT

National Council Seeks to Fill Executive Committee Positions

Are you a spouse currently living in or transferring to the Washington, D.C. area? The National

Council is currently looking for motivated spouses to join our Executive Committee. If any of the

following volunteer positions interests you, or if you would like to nominate someone, please

contact kimballshelley@gmail.com by March 9th. Please

include NATIONAL COUNCIL NOMINATION in the subject

line. Committee members serve two years and you must

live in the D.C., Virginia, or Maryland area to be eligible.

Chair

Secretary

Communications Director (Website)

Communications Director (Newsletter)

By-Laws Advisor

The HOH website provides many FREE tools

and links to other information for job seekers:

HOH Dashboard: Set up one account

to access all of HOH’s digital tools at no cost

to get timely, relevant alerts, personalized

content and notifications. See MyHOH.org.

Career Spark: Create resumes that

maximize work and volunteer experience and

make them searchable to thousands of

military friendly employers.

Fast Track: Research several industries

to match interests, experience and skills with

in-demand jobs.

Virtual Job Scout: Connect with military

-friendly employers at virtual job fairs.

All * VET States: Get state-specific em-

ployment resources and career opportunities.

Hiring Our Heroes is a GREAT resource for our

Coast Guard Spouses as we move here, there

and everywhere across this great country (and

world!) with our Coasties! Check them out!

Hiring Our Heroes is a U.S. Chamber of

Commerce Foundation designed to help our

veterans, transitioning service members,

and MILITARY SPOUSES find meaningful

employment opportunities. They hold many

hiring events throughout the country that

are open to all veterans, service members,

reservists, guardsmen, and spouses. These

events are FREE and connect individuals

with ready-to-hire, military friendly employ-

ers! Exciting 2017 events are planned for

various locations.

Check out the full calendar of events here.

(Check back often as dates or locations may

change.) Learn more and register for these

FREE events at:

www.hiringourheroes.org/events.

CALIFORNIA CONNECTICUT ILLINOIS KANSAS

LOUISIANA MAINE MASSACHUSETTS MICHIGAN

MISSISSIPPI NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW YORK OHIO

PENNSYLVANIA PUERTO RICO RHODE ISLAND TEXAS

WASHINGTON WISCONSIN D.C.

YOUR NATIONAL COUNCIL BOARD

Chair: Gary Thomas

Vice Chair: Amy Vanderhaden

By-Laws: Shelley Kimball

Treasurer: Janice Lytle

Secretary: Shawna McQuate

Communications Courtney Allen

Directors: Macie Lowe

Work-Life Liaison: Christine DeGraw

Honorary Advisors: Fran DeNinno

Claudia Michel

Janet Cantrell

Valerie Johnson

Important Links and Updates

We are dedicated to establishing a central location

for our spouses to identify and connect with

spouses' clubs across the nation. Check out our

Club Directory here.

We would like to remind all clubs to please register

their club, including new officers, on the National

Council website: www.nationalcouncilofcgsc.org

We are here to help! Our committee members are

excited to connect with you and hear your questions,

ideas, challenges, and stories! Please email us at:

nationalcouncilofcgsc@gmail.com

And don’t forget to “like” the National

Council of Coast Guard Spouses’

Clubs on Facebook to stay up to date

on all the latest news!

Are you eligible for the new Blended

Retirement System? Click here to find out

more and here to learn about opt-in

training for spouses too.

Stay up to date on contract changes

to Tricare here and register for email alerts

to stay informed.

Read more about expanded dental

coverage from Tricare as well as

expanded preventative coverage,

including well-women’s exams.

DO YOU HAVE THE APP? Have you downloaded the USCG HSWL app?

This application contains information about the

many quality of life resources available for

Coast Guard personnel, family members, and

retirees. The application includes information on

work-life programs, medical services, chaplain

services, housing, legal assistance, and morale,

well-being, and recreation (MWR) services.

Search USCG HSWL in your app store.

National Council Information