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Hurlburt youth, family recognized in Air Force reading program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kentavist P. Brackin
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
A Hurlburt Field youth placed third at the Air Force level during the 2016 Department of Defense – Morale, Welfare and Recreation Summer Reading Program Oct. 17.

The program, themed “Read – For the Win” is a Department of Defense-wide event that allows participants of all ages to earn prizes for reading throughout the summer. Participants are divided into three groups: children age 12 and below, teens age 13 to 18 and adults age 19 and above.

To complete the program, children below the age of 12 are required to read a minimum of 20 minutes a day, seven days a week during the eight-week program.

Cassidy Andersen, age two, took third place in her age group at the Air Force level by accumulating more than 1,100 minutes reading along with her parents during the program.

“The younger children are read books by their parents because research has shown this method to be the most effective to get your children to become readers themselves,” said Anne Maynard, Hurlburt Field Library supervisor.

For Cassidy and her parent’s efforts, Lt. Col. Lee Comerford, the commander of the 1st Special Operations Force Support Squadron, presented her with the third place prize, an electronic tablet.

“The summer reading program is another great example of how the Air Force invests in the resilience of Airmen and their families,” Comerford said. “I believe this is especially important here at Hurlburt Field, the most deployed wing in the Air Force, as the challenges faced by today’s military families are as great as ever.”

Maynard also says reading with each other is a great benefit for families that are geographically separated or deployed away from home.

“When you face time, you don’t always know what to talk about and there tends to be lulls in the conversation,” she said. “We have military members who will come in and checkout books so when they face time their kids at night they can read them a book, which is a great way to share time together while separated.”

For more information about the Air Force’s reading programs visit https://www.ila.org/dodsumread/ or contact the base library at 850-884-6266.