about
Military Spouse magazine (MSM) named Mrs. Bianca Strzalkowski the 2011 Military Spouse of the Year in recognition of her commitment to the military community, active duty Marine Corps husband Gunnery Sgt. Strzalkowski. As a military wife for 10 years and mother of three, Bianca has spent her time volunteering with various organizations, such as the U.S. Veteran Corps, National Military Family Association and the Marine Corps’ Family Readiness program. As a LINKS mentor, she has traveled the East Coast to educate spouses on the various aspects of military life. Currently, she is the Director of Membership and Volunteer Outreach for Blue Star Families. Since being named Military Spouse magazine’s 2011 MSOY, she has created a Military Spouse Education Initiative to expand educational opportunities for those excluded from the MyCAA program. With her own student experience as a reference, she believes it is possible for spouses to achieve their own goals around the obstacles of military life. She developed a workshop called “Independent Dependent” to empower spouses to never stop dreaming big. In addition to increasing educational opportunities for spouses, Bianca writes a monthly article and blog for MSM, has appeared in media interviews, such as Fox & Friends and CNN Newsroom, and has been a guest writer for USA Today and The Huffington Post. She was recently named as the 2011 Honoree of Women of Western Wake award for her local county. Status of the Military Spouse Education Initiative (MSEI)
To date, Bianca has:
- Met with the offices of Rep McMorris-Rodgers,Senator Hagan and Rep Bishop.
- Held conference calls with the Department of Education regarding a service grant for expanding the programming that is in place for spouses
- Spoke with the American Council of Education who said they will translate volunteer experience to college credit
- Discusses putting language into a Defense Appropriations Bill recognizing "military spouses" as an official group of people with the Defense Legislative Staffs of Congressional leaders
- Submitted the Military Spouse Education Initiative to the Council of College & Military Educators (CCME) to be presented at their annual education symposium
Bianca will be meeting with DOD leadership about institutionalizing a program for spouses, working on official legislation to support the MSEI, and working with Congressional leaders to secure their pledged support.
rules
Who can nominate? Nominations will be accepted from any person or group, civilian, and military personnel. A person can submit more than one nomination.
Who can be nominated? Anyone who is a spouse of a U.S. Military member may be nominated (all services, all ranks, active duty, Guard and Reserve).
Nominees must be over the age of 18. Employees of Victory Media, Inc. and Sponsor are ineligible to participate.
Judging Criteria. Considerations in selecting the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year include impact on community change, volunteerism,
personal sacrifice, education, and other spouse related efforts.
How to enter. The Promotion begins August 11th, 2010 and ends on October 6th, 2010 (Entry Period). No purchase necessary to enter.
Nominations must be submitted on or before October 6th, 2010 using the electronic nomination form on msoy.milspouse.com.
The nominating person will be asked to answer a series of questions about the Nominee and enter an essay about why Nominee
should be the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year. Judges selected by Victory Media, Inc. will review all submissions and select five finalists
from each military service branch, after which users at msoy.milspouse.com will vote upon and select one winner for each military branch, and
ultimately the national winner. The time period for voting is posted on msoy.milspouse.com under "Timeline." Odds of being selected for and
winning the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year depend on the number of Nominees, the relative performance of all Nominees and number of votes
cast for the Nominees. Votes tallied by Victory Media, Inc. and Sponsor are final.
Results of Promotion. Winner will be recognized as the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year. The winner may make public appearances,
write a monthly column to appear in Military Spouse magazine (subject to editorial rights by Victory Media, Inc.), and maintain a blog
during his/her one-year reign (subject to editorial rights by Victory Media, Inc.), which will last through May 2012. Winner is
responsible for any and all applicable fees and taxes associated with prize receipt.
Use of Nominee's/Winner's Name. Except where prohibited, participation in the Promotion constitutes consent to Sponsor's and
Victory Media's use of Nominee's/Winner's (and nominating person's) name, likeness, essay, biographical information and state of
residence for promotional purposes in any media including, without limitation, Sponsor's and Victory Media's website and related
publications without further payment or consideration. Except where prohibited, an individual who is the subject of a winning essay may
be required to sign and return to Sponsor and Victory Media a liability and publicity release. In addition, the potential winner may be
required to affirm that the content of the winning essay is accurate.
Rights to Essays. Essay submissions grant Sponsor and Victory Media the right in perpetuity to reproduce, publish, use, edit, adapt
and/or modify such essay, in any way, in any and all media, without limitation and without compensation to entrant or to the individual who is the subject of the essay.
General Conditions. Victory Media reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion if any problem corrupts the
administration, security, or proper play of the Promotion, as determined by Victory Media in its sole discretion. Victory Media reserves
the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual they find to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the
Promotion or to be acting in violation of these Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Victory Media and Sponsor are not
responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information submitted by entrants, or for any technical or human error, which may occur in
the processing of submissions in the Promotion. Victory Media and Sponsor are not responsible for any lost, late, illegible or misdirected electronic submissions, email or mail.
Victory Media: Victory Media owns and operates Military Spouse magazine.