Offutt Enlisted Spouses Club President recognized for work in the community
March 2 (Offutt AFB, Nebraska) — Following hundreds of nominations nationwide and a national vote yielding more than 23,000 votes, Jamie Schneider has been named the 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Offutt Air Force Base Spouse of the Year. Schneider is currently stationed with her husband, TSgt. Lance Schneider, at Offutt.
Now in its 13th year honoring the unwavering dedication of our nation’s more than 1.1 million military spouses, Armed Forces Insurance is proud to recognize the sacrifice and reward the change of military spouses from all six branches of the Armed Forces who are inspiring others and having a tangible, measurable effect on their communities.
“When you marry a service member, you are not ‘just’ a spouse, but a vital part of a community that thrives on the spirit and the volunteerism of those who take on the challenge of this lifestyle,” Schneider said. “Every day, it is an honor to watch Lance serve, and it is an honor to serve alongside him in a different capacity, creating a community that allows our military spouses and families to thrive so our service members can focus on what they do best. I am grateful for this opportunity to be a changemaker and to leave Offutt, someday, better than I found it.”
As the American Heart Association’s Regional (Midwest) Vice President for Communications and Marketing, Schneider is passionate about military spouse employment. She is a member of the Bellevue Offutt Rising Professionals, a part of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, and has worked to develop programming for military spouses and connect military spouses to employment resources and opportunities. Military spouses have a higher rate of unemployment and underemployment than the general population.
Schneider is a key spouse for the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron, since 2017, working directly with 30-40 spouses while serving the squadron as a whole through planning and executing events and assisting with online communication. She was recently named the Key Spouse of the Year for the 55th Wing.
She is also the president of the Offutt Enlisted Spouses Club, which now has its largest membership in its 65-year history, and previously served as the secretary, assistant treasurer and twice chaired the Winter Wonderland celebration for 800 enlisted service members and families. In March 2019 when Offutt was hit with devastating floods, Schneider helped create the OESC flood relief fund with over $10k in corporate donations, which helped fund morale events on base, clean-up and rebuilding on base and elsewhere, and the personal needs of Offutt’s flood impacted families in the aftermath of the flooding.
Other organizations that she is involved with include the Junior League of Omaha and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Greater Omaha.
Nominations from community members nationwide were accepted November 25, 2019 through January 24, 2020. The program is organized by base-level winners, then top 18 finalists, then branch level winners, and, finally, the overall 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year® (AFI MSOY) who are all selected by popular vote and judging panels. As a base winner, Schneider was in consideration for being named the overall winner. After a final vote conducted on March 3-4, the overall winner will be unveiled at an awards dinner on May 7 at The Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, VA, in conjunction with National Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which occurs on May 8.
“Over the ten years Armed Forces Insurance has been involved with the Military Spouse of the Year® awards program, we have seen it grow and amplify the voice of the military spouse on a national stage,” says Lori Simmons, chief marketing officer at Armed Forces Insurance. “These spouses have pioneered initiatives, founded organizations, started businesses, and advocated for issues impacting the quality-of-life for military families in the best ways imaginable. We are thrilled to welcome the 2020 base winners to the AFI MSOY family and work alongside them to make an even bigger impact.”
To learn more about Schneider and the other base winners, please visit www.msoy.afi.org.
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About Armed Forces Insurance:
Armed Forces Insurance was founded in 1887 by military leaders with a single mission: to protect the property of those who protect our nation. The company provides premium quality, competitively priced property, and casualty insurance to military professionals throughout the United States and overseas. Armed Forces Insurance understands that its members have unique circumstances and insurance needs, enabling the company to offer a level of personalized service that’s unequaled in the industry. For more information, visit the website at www.afi.org or call 1-800-495-8234, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year®:
The Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) Military Spouse of the Year® Award was founded in 2008 by Chris Hale, CEO of veteran-owned Neptune Holdings, and after nine years as title sponsor, AFI assumed ownership in 2018. The award is presented at a base, branch and overall level each year to military spouses who are making a difference in their communities and providing a collective voice for spouses around the world. Through a national nomination and voting process, these nominees are judged on five core criteria: overall involvement in military community, exhibition of leadership skills, community building capability, communication skills and overall personal story. With more than one million military spouses worldwide, this award program aims to shine a spotlight on the force behind our armed forces. For more information, please visit www.msoy.afi.org.