In the Spotlight

By MCSN Triniti Lersch, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

Name: Hollie Kelly

Command: FFSC Sigonella

Department: Information & Referral

If you’ve stopped by the NAS Sigonella Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), chances are you’ve seen Hollie Kelly, a rising star of the office.

Kelly is originally from Nevada, Missouri and moved to Naval Air Station Sigonella in February of 2019 with her husband who is stationed at the Naval Hospital onboard. Kelly and her husband have been to three prior commands, and this is her second time overseas.

She works in the Fleet and Family Support Center as an Information and Referral Specialist. She also serves as Building Manager, government purchase card holder, volunteer coordinator, Sig Safe facilitator, outreach point of contact, and marketing specialist, and she is trained as an Ombudsman and Command Financial Specialist.

“I do a little bit of everything, although my official job is information and referral. I basically help military members and spouses connect with resources on the installation or within the community,” said Kelly.

According to Regina Fivella, the director of FFSC Sigonella, Kelly is a superstar.

“She has a lot of initiative and continues to go above and beyond while building her career portfolio,” said Fivella.

One thing all of Kelly’s duties have in common is the focus on supporting people in Sigonella.

“I think my favorite part of my job is the people that I help within the community,” said Kelly. “Being an active duty spouse myself, I understand the stresses and the needs of living overseas and the military lifestyle itself, so whenever I can help somebody and connect them to something that will better them in the future, it’s very rewarding and satisfying.”

Thanks to her personal experience, Kelly knows the difficulties in balancing family and work firsthand.

“As a working military spouse, my husband’s mission comes first,” said Kelly, “so finding that work and life balance can be difficult.”

Nevertheless, Kelly finds strength in her family.

“I love my kids, and I think its really special being a military family,” said Kelly. “It’s usually just the four of us, and I think that strengthened our bond as a family. I just love spending time with them”

One of her favorite things to do with her family is to travel, so this move overseas was exactly what she was hoping for.

“It’s why we campaigned so hard for orders to Sigonella,” said Kelly. “I really wanted to travel, and the first place I want to go to when we are able to is Florence.”

Kelly loves the community here in Sicily and is grateful that she works with three Italian employees who have shown her the culture first hand. She especially loves the food and is excited for gelato and granita season, which started in the beginning of May. Her favorite things about Sicily, though, are the wine and Mt. Etna.

“I love going up on Mt. Etna,” said Kelly. “I’ve hiked it a few times and I’ve taken my kids. I also did the gondola ride with one of my friends from work; we went up to the very top. I love Mt. Etna and the wine that’s there, especially in the summertime when it’s hot. You can just go up to the mountain and cool off a little bit.”