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National Guard Family Volunteer Training

The National Guard Family Program held their annual Volunteer Workshop July 25-27 in Louisville, Kentucky. Over 1400 volunteers and teen leaders were in attendance. The theme of this year’s workshop was unbridled service, readiness, and support.

The National Volunteer Workshop provides an opportunity for National Guard Family Program volunteers to exchange ideas and share “best practices” and to provide training on current program policies and practices as well as new initiatives. The workshop provides senior Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, and State and Territory leadership the opportunity to interact with National Guard Family Program volunteers.

The National Military Family Association was pleased to participate once again in this important workshop. Candace Wheeler, Government Relations Deputy Director presented four breakout sessions entitled, “Answering the Question: How Can I Help?” Participants in each session learned more about the work of our Association, the findings from our research, and how to use our new community toolkit – Finding Common Ground A Toolkit for Communities Supporting Military Families - to help improve their community’s support for military families.

In addition to the workshop, National Guard family volunteers were treated to the first ever USO Homefront Concert with Kentucky’s own Montgomery Gentry. National Guard, active duty, and reserve troops and their families were given free tickets to attend the event at the KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The event was broadcast live on the Pentagon Channel to U.S. military bases and ships around the world.

(Source: http://kentuckyguard.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/uso-homefront-concert-brings-joy-to-military-families)