NVMSEA Spotlight; Spring 2022 ME Mag

Holding Down the Fort Podcast

Sustaining a fulfilling and purposeful military life through conversation and community building

"Holding Down the Fort podcast started with the simple desire to get the pulse of the military community and the lives of career military families today. Having been born into a military family household to becoming a Gold Star family member, I realized that I had a unique experience of the military community compared to my US VetWealth colleagues. Most of my coworkers were veterans and had been in the service as bachelors with no kids. One of the most significant issues we encountered in offering financial advice to the military community was when military couples have to decided to keep or opt-out of the Survivor Benefit Plan.Over the years our show has pivoted and redefined its purpose throughout its five seasons.

Today, the show focuses on sustaining a fulfilling and purposeful military life through conversation and community building. We converse with special guests from the military community and for the military community to share knowledge, resources, and relevant stories on how we can best "hold down the fort" for ourselves and our loved ones. In 2020, I was selected as the winner of The Rosie Networks' National Veteran and Military Spouse Entrepreneur Awards Media Professional of the Year. Since winning the award, we've collected three more award nominations. I've been offered many speaking engagements— including two keynote speeches in 2021. I have shared my story in multiple media outlets, and been interviewed on many podcast shows.

Finally, thanks to all of the stories and conversations on our show, I've gained the confidence to work with my colleagues at US VetWealth (the 2018 Best Entrepreneur Start-Up Company Awardee) to be the spokesperson of our sister show, "The Spouse Benefit Plan," which focuses on helping career military families make the most critical decision before the transition: to keep or opt-out of the Survivor Benefit Plan. If this is what an award has done for me in one year, you best believe it will do great things for you! I'm excited to see where you will go from here. To my fellow finalists that didn't win an award this time around: don't fret. The Rosie Network's got your back so long as you continue to hustle and stay plugged into this fantastic community.

~Jen Amos