Laurin Ladner

Share your military spouse story:
My husband James and I (Laurin) were high school sweethearts. We were just young kids in love and unfortunately went our separate ways after my graduation. I went off to college to become a social worker and a couple of years later James joined the United States Navy. A decade had passed and after both going through some difficult times, we reconnected, as if time never had passed. We reconnected in 2020 and were married in 2021. I was teaching in Gulfport, MS and when I finished my contract, our oldest daughter and I moved to Richmond, VA where my husband was on shore duty. In July 2021, while still moving into our house in Richmond, I had a stroke and was hospitalized. I found out I had a blood clot on my brain and started immediate treatment at Virginia Cancer Institute. What a rough way to begin our new journey, I just left the home I had known for most of my life to move over a thousand miles away to start this new life with my husband. That’s when I realized that would be the first of ALOT of resiliency to come! In July 2022 we welcomed our second daughter into the world and in November 2022 we moved from Richmond, VA to Norfolk, VA. While I have not been a military spouse for a long time, I absolutely admire my husband and all of our nations past and present service members who make sacrifices daily to defend this beloved country that I am proud to call my home.

Share an example of your leadership experience within the military community:
My family and I recently won the 2023 5 Star Military Family Awards, representing the entire Navy of Hampton Roads in Virginia, for our volunteer service to the military and civilian community in our local area. We are beyond honored to receive this recognition, but more importantly wanted to spread awareness of the the groups we work with - in order to serve more families. I volunteer as Vice President and Treasurer with the USS George Washington Family Resdiness Group to boost sailor morale and connect spouses and families to one another through different social events and connection building. When you don’t have family near by, making connections with other spouses is HUGE. I also volunteer with a non-profit Villa Hampton Roads. I help new parents get tangible items like diapers, wipes, and menstrual supplies. I also help connect these parents with local resources. I am blessed to get to love on our community through helping meet these critical tangible needs.

Describe your involvement in the military community:
Through my volunteer work with the USS George Washington’s FRG I am honored to help create and host events for our sailors and families. Recently I helped collaborate with Toys for Tots to help junior enlisted sailors pick out toys to bring home to their children for Christmas. I also helped put on and host a Children’s Family Holiday Party, helped with the carrier’s mental health fair, and am working on halfway through deployment care packages for all sailors on the carrier. Through Villa Hampton Roads, I not only help the civilian community but also the military community which I hold near and dear to my heart. 75% of the families I work with through Villa are Active Duty Military Families and I know the need and understand the importance of what Villa is doing to help these families. I am honored and while it may seem small to others, the relief I see come off these parents faces when they realize their baby will not go without formula or diapers, that means the world to me.

Describe how you support your community:
Advocacy is huge and to be honest is one of the main reasons I am accepting this nomination, I want more people to hear about Villa Hampton Roads and what Villa is doing to help meet the tangible needs of parents in our local community. As I mentioned before, 75% of the families we serve are Active Duty Military families. Most of the time the parents I am working with from those families are the military spouses. While there are government programs that some junior enlisted military families qualify for, there are none that help with diapers, wipes, and menstrual supplies. There is a huge need for this type of assistance and I strive to help spouses in need of these items get them and get them as quickly as possible. No one wants to hear or see that a baby is going without. The fact that we have military families who aren’t able to meet these basic needs for their baby breaks my heart, and I hope to fill in this gap one family at a time.

What do you advocate for? Why?
I advocate for mental health for parents and caregivers, especially postpartum mental health. I advocate for the government to create an assurance program to meet the tangible needs of parents of infants and toddlers with items such as diapers/pull-ups and wipes. I advocate for service members mental health and boosting morale. I advocate and strongly believe in these matters, and although I am just one person - one military spouse - I hope that I am heard and am making a difference.

How have you spread the message of your platform/advocacy?
Social media plays a significant role in spreading the messages of what I advocate for. I help run the Villa Hampton Roads social media as well as the USS George Washington’s Family Readiness Group Facebook page. I recently got to share my messages through the 5 Star Military Family Awards and with our local news station for the awards - I hope that I have touched at least one person’s heart to stand up and make a difference.

What do you hope to accomplish with the AFI Military Spouse of the Year^® title?
To be honest, I know there are so many spouses who are deserving of this title. There are so many spouses who are making a difference in their local communities, who are volunteering and spending their time to advocate and help others. If I was chosen for this title, I hope that I can advocate for a government assistance program to get off the ground to help parents in need with items such as diapers, wipes, and postpartum/menstrual supplies.