Texans to celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day with online event

Laura Koerner, Chairwoman of the Texas Veterans Commission, joins FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren to discuss the online event happening on May 8."

AUSTIN, Texas - There's an online event coming up to honor a segment of the military and veteran population that is many times overlooked, spouses.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day honors the contributions, support, and sacrifices made by the spouses of active duty military and veterans.

Laura Koerner, the chairwoman of the event, joined FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren to discuss.

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MIKE WARREN: Tell us about the event.

LAURA KOERNER: The Texas legislature created Military Spouse Appreciation Day for May 8th of every year. It's our opportunity to honor the spouses for everything they do to support the family, especially during deployments and the return afterward.

MIKE WARREN: How important is the role that spouses play?

LAURA KOERNER: They are the backbone of the family that supports everything behind the scenes when their spouse is serving our country. I'm a veteran and a military spouse, so I know what it takes to keep a family going. It involves lots of things: typically families move six times every 2 to 3 years and usually the spouse is the one taking care of the details.

MIKE WARREN: How to participate in the event?

LAURA KOERNER: With the Texas Veterans Commission, you can visit any of our social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. There's a digital card you can sign to honor your military spouse and there are always off-line to show support, sending flowers or a small gift thanking them.

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MIKE WARREN: What's the takeaway from this?

LAURA KOERNER: It's a fairly new celebration we have in Texas. We want it to grow. The first year we had 10,000 engagements during COVID so every year we want to increase the acknowledgment of spouses. It's more than supporting our vets and active military, it's everyone who supports them back home.

MIKE WARREN: Thank you for joining us.