Read more to find out about Coast Guard activities this quarter! Thank you for your

continued support of your Coast Guard Spouses’ Clubs!

IN THIS ISSUE

Note from our Chair 1

USCG HSWL App 1

Club Spotlight 2

Hurricanes and our Members 3

Resources for Virtual Clubs 6

National Council Information 6

Spouses Clubs across the Coast

Guard came together in response to

the Call to Action launched by the

National Council to join together

and support our C.G. families, after

Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas.

While still in recovery, Hurricane

Irma and Maria struck with more

destruction on the Caribbean,

Florida and surrounding states.

The response by our spouses to the

hurricane recovery was

overwhelming and impressive. We

joined together to collect needed

items, reflected thoughtfully on

those who have lost so much, wrote

words of support and many played

an integral part in getting the

necessary help to those who needed

it most. The C.G. Spouses

Association of Cape Cod collected a

staggering amount of supplies that

were delivered down south for C.G.

victims. Shortly after, the wildfires

devastated Northern California in

which several C.G. families lost

everything. The C.G. Spouses

Association of Petaluma did a

remarkable job of taking care of

their own by baking, babysitting,

collecting needed items, working

with the Ombudsman and opening

their thrift shop to C.G. victims.

Our Spouses’ Clubs make a

difference and on behalf of the

National Council, we thank you for

embodying the spirt of the club:

welcoming, supportive, inclusive

and educational. Each member

brings their own unique talents to

the club and each talent, whether it

be creativity, organization,

technology, hosting, writing,

networking etc, makes the club

function, thrive and be successful.

Encourage your members’ talents,

embrace the uniqueness of one

another and build on the experience

and commonality you share as C.G.

spouses.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

Many thanks to Shelley Kimball, a

superwoman C.G. Spouse who has

given so much of her time and

talent. In addition to serving on

our National Council as the Bylaws

Advisor she has taken on numerous

positions that give C.G. spouses a

voice and support. Shelley is

retiring from writing From the Homefront, written for C.G.

spouses, by a C.G. spouse. Over the

last four years she has covered

finances to families, triumph to

tragedy and so many other topics

that affect our lives as C.G.

spouses. We wanted to extend our

utmost appreciation and thanks to

Shelley for exemplifying selfless

dedication and passion and

enriching the lives of our C.G.

families, being our cheerleader, our

voice and our educator.

DO YOU HAVE THE HSWL 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.

A Note from the Chair

C L U B S P O T L I G H T :

C O A S T G U A R D S P O U S E A S S O C I A T I O N

O F H A M P T O N R O A D S

Our clubs are an important part of the Coast Guard life. They provide a resource for spouses and family

members who wish to connect with other Coast

Guard family members. Many of our clubs

provide help to community members and those

in our CG family who are in need. In this

edition, we would like to recognize the Coast

Guard Spouse Association of Hampton Roads.

The Coast Guard Spouse Association of

Hampton Roads serves the Hampton Roads

community as well as Northeastern North

Carolina. They have members from various

cities including Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth,

Virginia Beach, Newport News and

Williamsburg. This club is important to the

area because it serves to bring together spouses

and families from all over the area.

The CGSA-HR is working on building their membership base by instituting Zip Code Connections. This will

encourage smaller communities of members to get together. The goal is to encourage connections to grow

and foster the club’s membership. Monthly BUNCO games and coffee chats offer great opportunities to get

to know fellow CG spouses.

This season, the CGSA-HR has been working tirelessly on the Holiday Gift Project. They are sponsoring six

Coast Guard families who are in need this holiday season. The selfless act of kindness is an example of how

the CGSA-HR gives back to the community.

Thank you to the Coast Guard Spouses’ Association of Hampton Roads for being an asset to the Coast

Guard community.

H U R R I C A N E E V A C U A T I O N S By Shelley Kimball for From the Homefront

Lindsey Zackman and her family recently left their home in the path of Hurricane Harvey, as did Morgan Knauss and her family.

Shea McNally left their home in Cuba when Guantanamo Bay was evacuated for Hurricane Matthew, and Marci Williams fled her home in Savannah.

Stacey Bilodeau was one of many families who had to leave when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, and she returned with one extra member.

Coast Guard life often means living in areas ripe for natural disasters. Each of these Coast Guard spouses learned from their experiences, and offered advice for making getting through an evacuation as smoothly as possible.

“In my honest opinion, I always think it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Zackman said. “Homes and material belongings can always be replaced but your family and pets cannot.”

One of the most important things to remember is that if you are in the path of a natural disaster, you must follow Coast Guard regulations if you want to receive reimbursements for evacuation expenses. The area or district command is responsible for authorizing official evacuations. Families can evacuate on their own, but they may not get paid back for the costs.

That official order will contain specific information about which units are involved and where to go. There will be orders for active duty members and separate orders for family members. When it comes time for filing for reimbursements, the claims will be separate, too. Depending on what is included, reimbursements will cover travel, lodging, and food – similar to PCS orders.

Hurricane Harvey 2017

As Hurricane Harvey took aim at Texas, Zackman and her family of five (plus two dogs), decided to leave. At first, they planned to stay because this was not their first experience facing down a hurricane, going as far as to stock up on nonperishable food and water. But when Air Station Corpus Christi gave permission to evacuate, they packed up and left.

They gathered up the kids, pets, and belongings and drove a few hours away to San Anotonio, Texas. Even as they were leaving, Zackman said she was not sure evacuating was the right decision. There were so many unanswered questions: Were schools going to close? When would the power come back on? Would their house be standing when they came back?

“Once we were at the hotel and the category had increased to a four I knew we did the right thing,” she said.

If it happens again, she said, she would set a marker at which her family will evacuate.

“Looking back now I think my husband and I need to determine what specific category of hurricane we would decide ahead of time to leave,” Zackman said. “Leaving it up in the air was a very difficult choice whether to stay or go.”

Knauss has been through evacuations before, so when Harvey started barreling her way in Corpus Christi, Texas, she was ready. But she knew she would have to go it alone. Her husband is an aviator and part of the crew that moves Coast Guard air craft out of the path of the storm.

Knowing that she might have to take their four kids and dog to another location quickly, she started to prepare.

“We had prepped the yard and I made sure our ‘go folder’ had all our important documents in it though just in case,” she said.

As Harvey gained strength, Knauss made her evacuation plan. She was going to head west, to Laredo, Texas.

“I made a final decision to leave about 30 hours before landfall. We were on the road within two hours of making that choice,” she said. “When I saw that the storm was predicted to strengthen into a Cat 3 and put a direct hit on Corpus, I was not sticking around.”

That early planning kept her stress level a little lower.

The McNally Family was evacuated from Cuba in 2016 to avoid Hurricane Matthew.

“Thankfully my kids (and dog) have turned into great little travelers,” she said. “We got on the road before a lot of people did and managed to avoid traffic that other people hit.”

They stayed in a hotel and watched the storm from afar. They were anxious about how their neighborhood would fair. A neighbor posted a live Facebook video of her neighborhood, showing each house along the route, so that those who left could see the aftermath.

“We were able to see our homes and it was such a relief knowing they were still standing with minimal damage, from what we could tell,” she said.

She’s grateful the hurricane didn’t veer just a few miles off its path.

“I feel incredibly lucky,” Knauss said. “Had Harvey made landfall just 10 to 15 miles south my home may not be standing right now.”

Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew’s path of destruction in 2016 went from the Caribbean up the Eastern seaboard. Coast Guard and Navy families who were stationed at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba were evacuated ahead of the storm. McNally and her family were part of that evacuation.

“It was really stressful,” she said “especially as far as prepping everything ahead of time.”

They prepared their home, made sure their boat was safe, and then waited for the evacuation.

To add chaos and confusion to their situation, during the week before the storm, the McNally’s daughter had been placed in the special needs program, and they were told they would have to relocate to another duty station that would allow her access to appropriate medical care. So they were waiting for unexpected emergency orders at the same time they were facing a hurricane evacuation.

They knew that soon after their return, whenever that would be, that they would have to arrange for a move.

“Everything was kind of last minute,” McNally said. “Everything was hurry up and wait.”

On their son’s first birthday, the McNallys were evacuated with five other families, including pets. They were flown to Air Station Miami, and found a hotel there. But then Matthew started to move into that area, so they moved the whole family and the dog farther inland to ride out the storm.

After a week, they went back home to their home in Cuba. Within two weeks, they moved away.

Meanwhile, up the coast, Williams and her family were awaiting Hurricane Matthew’s arrival in Savannah, Georgia. She decided to evacuate with her two children, while her husband stayed back.

“I was honestly sad to leave without John, but as a Coast Guard wife of 19 years, I knew he’d be taking care of his guys and helping at the air station,” she said.

Williams had no idea how long she would be gone. She just knew that if she left she could not come back until the evacuation order was lifted. She packed extra clothes and water, and found a hotel room for the night.

She traveled with another Coast Guard spouse and her children, and they tried to keep it as light-hearted as they could, considering the potential impending devastation. The families left ahead of the mandatory evacuation order, which meant that they could find a place to stay and they were not stuck in traffic, she said.

They stayed in Atlanta for more than a week, she said, and the aftereffects when they returned were shocking.

“It looked like something out of a movie when we returned. Debris, trees down, no power for a while,” she said.

The damage included their home. A tree went through the roof of their bedroom, landing on their bed, and crashed through windows on the upper floor.

“The devastation to our rental house was terrible,” she said. “It took nine months and over 40 different construction workers to fix the roof, attic, master bed room, and master bathroom.”

Morgan Knauss, her four kids, and their dog evacuat-ed from their home in Texas to get out of the path of Hurricane Harvey. Photo courtesy of Morgan Knauss.

PREPARE FOR THE STORM

All five Coast Guard spouses lent their advice to others who may face the decision to evacuate:

Before the storm:

• Keep your car fueled during hurricane season – trying to get gas to leave for an evacuation order can be challenging.

• Get your home ready to withstand the storm, whether or not you will be there when it hits.

• Make sure you have appropriate insurance coverage

• Develop a plan for evacuation

• Gather emergency supplies and put them in one place with all the lists and reminders you need if you end up evacuating.

• Make a list of all of the documents you would need to take (birth certificates, marriage certificates, social security cards, prescriptions, pet immunization records etc.). In an emergency, it is hard to remember what you need. If you must evacuate:

• Choose one person, preferably outside of the area, to be the contact person for the family. Everyone relay their whereabouts to that one person.

• Take out cash – credit cards may not work everywhere.

• Make activity kits for kids. Your evacuation location may be stormy, too, and there will be a lot of down time.

• Make arrangements for your pets. They need a safe place to ride out the storm. If that is with you, make sure your evacuation location takes pets.

• Keep track of what you spend and keep receipts. You will also need to know if the expenditure is for the family or for the active duty member – reimbursements are separate.

Hurricane Sandy In October of 2012, Bilodeau and her family were stationed on Fire Island, New York, when Hurricane Sandy started to makes its way toward them. They thought they had their evacuation plans set, but it all went awry.

Stacy and her husband, and their 18-month-old daughter heeded the Coast Guard’s evacuation order, and had plans to make their way to a more secure place in Terrytown, New York. They had hotel reservations and their bags were packed.

Biodeau was 28 weeks pregnant, and just to be on the safe side, she suggested a quick stop at her doctor’s office.

“Before leaving to drive out that far, I suggested to my husband that we go to Stony Brook, New York, and check to make sure everything was okay with our son before we go all the way to Terrytown,” she said. “Well, things were not okay, and we ended up having to be induced into labor and having him during Super Storm Sandy.”

Upon leaving the hospital, they had to find a place to stay. By that time, the hotels were either full or without power. Luckily, a hotel was able to make space for them.

As the destruction from the storm unfolded, it got more difficult to get by.

“We were cut off from so much; gas was low or sold out. There was no power, so no way to pay with credit cards for anything,” Bilodeau said. “Supplies were low and people were going crazy. People had guns at the gas pumps, fighting over bread at the stores.”

By the time they were allowed to go back home, they had little food in the house (most of it had gone bad), and the water was not drinkable. The Coast Guard provided potable water, and the neighbors relied on each other to get by. The memory of it is actually a positive one, Bilodeau said.

“Even though it was crazy, our little Coast Guard family that was all stationed on Fire Island came together,” Bilodeau said. “We all cooked together and helped each other out. I had a new baby boy, and our family was safe. It has

also made us more prepared for major storm events.”

The Bilodeau family, just days after they were finally allowed back to their home in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Photo courtesy of Stacy Bilodeau.

YOUR NATIONAL COUNCIL BOARD

Chair: Amy Vanderhaden

Vice Chair: Pam Jones

By-Laws: Kim Allan

Treasurer: Janice Lytle

Secretary: Mary Vogt

Communications Courtney Allen

Director (Website):

Communications Monica Day

Director (Newsletter):

Work-Life Liaison: Christine DeGraw

Honorary Advisors: Fran DeNinno

Claudia Michel

Janet Cantrell

Valerie Johnson

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!

National Council Information

R E S O U R C E S F O R V I R T U A L C L U B S

1) Find a “village:” Find that group in whatever form you can that you can rely on. That might be in your local community, or it may be through a spouses’ club or online groups. 2) Find a Facebook page for your spouse’s unit: Even if you don’t live near the unit, getting information quickly about what is happening with the unit is essential. 3) Join several Coast Guard Facebook pages: Even if they are not location-specific, the pages are filled with other spouses who can related to each others’ experiences, and who are a wealth of information. 4) Find your ombudsman: Use this link to find the ombudsman nearest your location to see if he or she knows about support near you.

5) Spouse clubs: The National Council for Coast Guard Spouses’ Clubs keeps a running list of affiliated clubs. Join the one nearest you, even if it is not the one that serves your spouse’s unit. Join even if you live so far from the club you many not be able to attend many events. The connection will still keep you in the loop for the Coast Guard community. 6) Google Hangout: This is a video conferencing program that works through Google, so you need a Gmail address to use it. (Gmail is free.) Find information and tutorials on how to use Google Hangout here. 7) Skype: This is an audio or video conferencing website that has both free and paid plans. It is free to connect with someone else who has a Skype account. Here is information on how to get started.

For spouses who live far from Coast Guard units, finding support can be more difficult. But by using creative thinking and technology, the miles between spouses can disappear. Here are some tips for those who are not geographically near a Coast Guard unit but who want to feel more connected to the community. By Shelley Kimball for From the Homefront