Spouses in the Mil The Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce is holding an expo and a luncheon with a question-and-answer session for military spouses on April 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will take place at the Rudolph Jones Student Center at Fayetteville State University.

“The lunch and the expo is free to military spouses; male or female, veterans, members of the Gold Star community, anybody who is or has been married to someone in the military is welcome to come to this event for free,” said Claudia Black, events coordinator and sales specialist for the Chamber. “We are really trying to cater to the military spouses.”

Bronwen Pence, the wife of Fort Bragg Garrison commander Col. Scott Pence, will be moderating a question-and-answer session during the luncheon.

“We will have a panel of four ladies from throughout different branches of the military. The panel will be giving spouses some insight on what military life is like, anything they feel might be helpful to the spouses,” Black said.

The panel will include U.S. Army Special Operation Command-wife Kimberly Weimer and Garrison-wife Nikki Loehr.

The panel will also have a newer military spouse so that the question-and-answer session can be diverse, Black said.
Paul Mitchell will be providing makeovers throughout the day for the spouses, and Five West Media will be on hand
to create headshots for the
attendees. Spouses can receive professional headshots digitally.

Breakout sessions will occur during the morning, the first being a mental wellness session. It will include office yoga and a discussion with a mental wellness doctor talking about stress and how to cope with spouses deploying.

The second breakout room of the day will be geared toward extreme couponing, a subject Black said was very well received during the last military spouse event.

An expo will also be available throughout the day. Thirty-eight vendor booths will be set up in the halls of FSU, and spouses are more than welcome to come and go. If spouses can’t attend the whole event, they can still come to the expo.

Guests walking through the expo will be able to get free gifts and talk to the vendors. Those who come to the luncheon will also receive a swag bag.

“We have a lot of great swag bags to give out,” Black said.

“We still have room for more table sponsors. A business can sponsor a table. They get one seat at the table, and then we put seven military spouses with them, so they get some one-on-one time with the spouses. The business can decorate the table with signage,” Black said.

“We really want these seats to be filled with military spouses. That’s the whole goal of this, for them to have a fun day and be pampered and hopefully learn some stuff.”

The expo and luncheon are free to military spouses, but Black said guests should register before the event. To register, visit www.faybiz.com.