JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- A military spouse in Onslow County has been named the Armed Forces Insurance and Military Spouse Magazine Marine Corps Spouse of the Year.
Nicole Spaid is the wife of Lt. Col. Wes Spaid, an osprey pilot stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville.
She is a mother of three and an avid volunteer.
"I've done everything from sexual assault prevention work, to just your basic key volunteer network," said Spaid.
Now, her family is in the middle of their eighth deployment, and she's up for the national title of Military Spouse of the Year across all branches of the armed forces.
"For me, it was always very important to support that group of men and women who are doing jobs that many people would not want to do," said Spaid of her time spent volunteering.
"And so it became important to make that connection and to help out...especially now for me seeing the younger girls come up and they have young families, and going through these separations, it just became very important to support and connect and thrive together,” said Spaid.
If she wins the national title, Nicole hopes to be able to use it to gain traction for military families, addressing issues like budget cuts.
"I need to be a voice for those who don't have that opportunity and the thing that I want to make sure that we take care of, is to take care of our families, of those who are deployed," said Spaid.
In the end her mission is to connect spouses.
"Leaving that legacy of paying it forward and taking care of each other is very important to me," said Spaid.
If you want to vote for Nicole, visit the voting website. Voting opens on March 4. The polls will be open for one day only.