Fairbanks military and community members take home National Military Child Education Coalition award

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) - Numerous military and Fairbanks North Star Borough community members took home a National Military Child Education Coalition award this year.

In July, the NMCEC recognized numerous Fairbanks entities for their efforts in organizing the event, “A Day in Life,” back in April during the month of the military child, awarding them the Pete Taylor 2023 Partnership of Outstanding Excellence Award. The event honored military children and shared the unique hardships they face with the community.

“The idea quickly turned into a plan to build strong ties between our local schools, military installations, and the community at large while honoring our military connected children, tweens, and teens… Many hours of brainstorming, planning, preparing, and organizing resulted in a fun-filled event,” said Lee Williams, the FNSB Parks and Recreation riverside division superintendent in a press release.

Fort Wainwright school liaison officer Janet Farris was one of the three partners who traveled to Washington D.C. to accept the award, along with Williams and Eielson Air Force Base school liaison officer Earnest Kincade.

“It’s such a wonderful feeling, but extremely humbling also because we just did this because [of] the importance of our military-connected children and youth, about their life that they live,” Farris said.

The event also provided military-connected children a chance to glance into what a day in life looks like for someone working in the civilian and military world.

“This is our way of going, ‘We appreciate what you do, children and youth. We understand that it’s a struggle. And that we know that you are very resilient,’” Farris said.

Over 700 people attended the event in April. With the success of the celebration, officials say they plan to host another “A Day in The Life” next April.

This is the third consecutive time in a row that Fairbanks community members have been recognized by NMCEC for their efforts.

Last year, Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, Eielson Air Force Base, University of Alaska, and the Fairbanks Co-Op were awarded the Exemplary Community Partnership award for “Operation Grow Where You Go: Cultivating Support for Military-Connected Children, Tweens, and Teens.”

In 2021, the Fort Wainwright School Liaison Office, Eielson Air Force Base School Liaison Office, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Military Student Support Coordinator were awarded the Exemplary Individual Program/Project Award.

“We’re on a roll here in Alaska at Fort Wainwright and with some of these partners,” Farris said. “We have been number two the last two years, we came up to number one this year.”

All partners who received the Pete Taylor 2023 Partnership of Outstanding Excellence Award for their work in “A Day in the Life” include:

• For Wainwright
• Fort Wainwright Special Events
• Eielson Air Force Base
• The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District
• The Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Department
• The Fairbanks North Star Borough
• Fairbanks Arts Association
• Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Military Student Support Coordinator
• Fort Wainwright School Liaison Office

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