The 48th SFS Needs You!

Spouses, 

The First Shirt is in need of our help, as is our Unit.  The 48th SFS is looking for Key Spouses.  If you don't know what that means, see the position description below.  Basically, the Key Spouses are appointed by the Commander and receive special training to be a liaison of sorts between the families of the squadron and the squadron itself.  They are particularly helpful during deployments.  Currently, our squadron is without Key Spouses and the First Shirt is looking for spouses that are willing and able to jump immediately into this position.  

Please know that Key Spouses have a distinctly different function than the Spouses' Group.  While we do our best to take care of your needs and facilitate between the spouses and the squadron, there are some things we cannot do... like give spouses information regarding deployments or access squadron resources for families in need.  Key Spouses are vital to the squadron.  It is our hope that we can get this program back up and running at full speed soon.  Please consider this opportunity to gain experience and service the squadron and its families.

Many Thanks,

Miranda, Kelli, Ashley and Rebecca

KEY SPOUSE POSITION DESCRIPTION

PURPOSE:  The primary purpose of this position is to work with unit leadership to plan, coordinate, and execute the unit’s KEY SPOUSE Program.  This program impacts mission readiness and retention by ensuring families have appropriate information and resources to meet their needs.  The Key Spouse is appointed, in writing, by the Unit Commander.

ELIGIBILITY:  Spouse of a unit member

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

· Provides peer-to-peer support to unit families

· Serves as a link between unit leadership and families

· Provides information and referral assistance to families during crisis 

· Welcomes families and cultivates relationships within the unit 

· Maintains and updates community resources and services

· Actively participates in unit’s Hails & Farewells, squadron functions, spouses’ group functions, and A&FRC meetings/training

· Tracks and maintains a unit family call log; records action taken and provides feedback regarding family readiness issues

· Troubleshoots issues and reports back to families and/or unit team

· Serves as a role model/mentor for unit spouses

· Attends scheduled meetings with the Unit Commander and/or First Sergeant and

provides feedback regarding family readiness issues

· Record volunteer hours and information disseminated on a data spreadsheet 

Other Duties May Include:

· Provides newsletter input  

· Distributes unit’s newsletter to families

· Performs other unit-related duties as determined by unit leadership

Desired Skills:  Good communicator.  Optional, knowledgeable of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher.  Professional; person of integrity and standards; adheres to privacy and confidentiality guidelines, and loyal to leadership. 

Required:  12 hours of training (KEY SPOUSE Program Course, Heart Link

Orientation, and Suicide Awareness).  Continuing education to remain current on Air Force and command trends/issues. 

To Love and Support

Hello Spouses!  Hope you had a great 4th of July… we know the Deen’s did J  If you haven’t heard yet, Rebecca had her baby Monday night and we are so happy for their family.  A special thanks again, to all who volunteered at the Defender Council booth at the Carnival yesterday and to all those that stopped by and supported us.  For the services we provided to the booth, Defender Council has given a cash donation to our group, which will go a long way in helping us to cover the cost of our Welcome Baskets and monthly socials.  As you most of you know, we did have a death within the squadron last week.  Airman Tyler Patton died in a tragic accident and the squadron will be holding a memorial for him next week.  Though the time-line is still not concrete, we have been asked to do a few things for the memorial and we wanted to get the information out to you now, so we would have time to pool our resources.  There are two things the squadron has asked that we do: 1) provide meals for Airman Patton’s family while they are in town next week for the memorial; 2) plan and organize a reception to be held at the chapel directly following the memorial for the family and the 48th SFS.  We have also offered to arrange corsages and boutonnieres for the family to wear to the service.  We did this for the Alden memorial and we would like to continue the tradition.  As you’ve guessed by now, we need your help once again.  We are seeking monetary donation for help cover the cost of the flowers for the memorial and to cover cost of two flower centerpieces for the reception.  Any monetary donation beyond the need for flowers will be used to provide table clothes and paper products for the reception.  If you would like to make a monetary donation to this end, please call Miranda Marrott @ 01638532835 or 07733483640. Also we are in need of donated supplies for the reception as well as volunteers to work the reception (this would include set-up, keeping tea and coffee in supply and clean-up).  Please, if you would like to sign up email spousesrus@yahoo.com.  We have already received several emails of support and are happy to say that the meals for the family are already settled. Ladies, a million thank-you’s for all you do would not be enough.  ‘To Love and Support” is our motto for a reason; you amazing spouses are excellent at what you do.  Your self-less service is truly inspiring. Sincerely, Thank You.

Looking forward to this summer!

Hey Spouses!  If you haven't already, please check out the calendar.  We have a few events this summer we are very excited about.  We are SO excited to announce that we have begun planning our first base-wide fundraiser! We will be having a Teddy Bear Picnic, tentatively scheduled for July 30th! It will be a ton of fun! More information to follow!


Because of this event, we have cancelled the Picnic in the Park get together in July, but we're still on for June 28th and August 16th!  Hope you're having a great summer and we look forward to seeing you :)

It's Official

The 48th SF Spouses' Group is the newest authorized and officially recognized Private Organization on RAF Lakenheath.  Not much is changing that we haven't already discussed; we're just excited and wanted everyone to know.


Please come join us on the 28th of June for a Picnic in the Park at Defender Park (by Taco Bell) from 11-1, weather permitting.  If the weather doesn't cooperate, please join us at the Bob Hope Center on RAF Mildenhall.

Happy to serve you!

Welcome Spouses!

Beautiful Spouses... and maybe some Handsome Spouses too!

Welcome to the New Year.  Your 2011-2012 Board has been hard at work, getting things ready for one ROCKIN' round of spouses' fun.

You'll notice that the blog is fully equipped with a Calendar of events, information about the programs our group has provided and will continue to provide, as well as information for new comers to the 48th SF Squadron.  If you check under the Calendar, you'll see we have a few events planned for this summer already and there will be more to come, so please check back often.  We'd encourage you to follow the blog, so that you can get regular updates.  Also, please friend us on Facebook: Lakenheath SF Spouses and get updates about the group in that way.

The Spouses' Group was already amazing and we are honored to carry on that tradition.  And, in the philosophy of Col. Ross, we're striving to make things better than we found them.  The first big change: we are going Private.  Our paperwork to become a full-fledged Private Organization is in and being reviewed.  We should have official P.O. status come July.  What does that mean for our group?  Well, mostly it means empowerment.  We're more fully able to do what it is we do without having to deal with anyone's red tape, but our own.  We can organize our own fundraisers, which will help us to have bigger and better socials.  And we can take care of each other, as the group was designed, without the need for approval.  We love our men and women in uniform, but being able to run on our own two feet without having to have their signatures only makes us stronger.

As part of the new path we are taking, dues will be instated.  They are small, just $12 a year to be paid in full at the members second social.  *Note that the summer events are not classified as socials and as such dues will not need to be paid until October.  You can, however, pay earlier if you prefer.*  These dues will be used solely for funding the socials.  And the socials will have a different format too, but more on that later :)

For now, we'll leave you knowing we are working hard and are very excited to get this show on the road!


Happy to serve you!

Miranda, Kelli, Ashley, and Rebecca

Happy Memorial Day.

 Home of the free, because of the Brave.

 Thank you to all who are serving, who have served and who will serve in the future.

 And thank you to their wonderful families that support and love them from home, giving them continued strength to do what it is that they do.

Happy Memorial Day!

Let us also remember today in our prayers, those in our squadron whom we have lost and those that lost them.  Nick Alden and his beautiful wife, Trish, and their children will forever be in our hearts and prayers.