Spouse Conference

Today I went to my first ever Military Spouse Conference.  WOW- it was SO fun!! The conference started at 930 am and was over by 330pm. Before the conference started there was an information fair in the hallway. We were able to get information on the various things the base has to offer and get some freebies.

The conference started off with guest speaker Ellie Kay. She is a former Air Force spouse whose husband has since retired. She is also a financial consultant for Wal Mart and other places. She gave everyone a FREE copy of her book "Heroes at Home". She was a great speaker who talked about different aspects of the military life. Here website is HERE

During the conference we had 2 breakout sessions where there were 4 rooms to choose from. I went to the travel room and learned all about how to get discounted tickets and hotels through our base plus they gave us online military websites and phone numbers.

Here is what I learned today in my breakout sessions:

TRAVEL

call these numbers for installations near you to get lodging at a great rate
AF- 1-888-AF LODGE
Army- 800-GO ARMY1
Navy- 800 NAVY INN

Sandals and Beaches Resorts have the best deals for military. Their rates are usually 65% off.
Carnival has the best cruise discounts

Armed Forces Vacation Club offers weekly accommodations for $369 at over 3500 locations. You can call them at 800-724-9988 or visit AFVCLUB online. The fee is for 7 night condominium lodging for the condo NOT per person

COUPONS

A local mom who is not military came and talked to us about how she saves money. She had a receipt for $300 worth of groceries she bought for $15. You can find her in yahoo groups under couponsanddeals. She watches ads and uses triple and double coupons.


After the breakout sessions lunch was served. Outback donated chicken Caesar salads and their yummy wheat bread. For some lunch time entertainment 13 of us did a skit on the little black dress. It was tons of fun and the audience loved it.

After that we had a game show skit and our final speaker came out- Mollie Gross.

Me and Mollie

She is a comedian and a Marine Wife. She was hilarious. Very off the cuff and no holds barred. She talked about being a military wife and all the funa dn interesting things we go through. In out goody bag was a CD from her.

For Dessert they had set up a dessert bar. OMG It was yummy. They had lots of choices and it was a buffett- that could be real dangerous!!  :-)

Over all it was a GREAT day. Just what I needed to get me pumped up and remind me how special us military wives are.