ANNAPOLIS, Md. — During his service in the army, Wes Moore did a tour in Afghanistan, and Maryland’s first lady, Dawn Moore, quickly took on new roles here on the home front.
“You’re Mom, Dad, CEO, and therapist all rolled into one,” said Moore’s wife, “You learn to juggle, and you learn to lead.”
Other spouses also found their careers had to take a back seat to those who were serving their country.
“For over 20 years, I had the great pleasure of being an Air Force military spouse,” said Yolanda Rayford, a chapter director for Blue Star Families, “For over 20 years, every three to four years, I had to reinvent myself as I’d look for a new job. I reinvented myself with many years of stay-at-home duties."
While Maryland’s unemployment rate has fallen under two percent, it’s three times higher among its military spouses.
The governor announced he’s, personally, putting forward a bill in the upcoming session to help change that.
“Our legislation allows employers to put a preference on hiring military spouses of active duty service members,” said Gov. Moore, “In the State of Maryland, we already allow for preferential hiring of veterans. Do you know what we don’t have right now? That extended to military spouses.”
The governor also is sponsoring a bill, which expands military leave for state employees serving in the National Guard and military reserves from 15 to 30 days per year.
Moore says that would allow those serving their country to save some of the personal time off they currently use up for training to finally be able to take a vacation with their families.
