Kyle Larson and fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers are helping to honor military spouses as part of the NASCAR Salutes Refreshed by Coca-Cola program, and he recently interviewed Brian Alvarado, the Armed Forces Insurance 2018 Navy Military Spouse of the Year.
“Being a Navy spouse is truly the honor of my life, but it does come with its challenges,” Alvarado told Larson. “But I say all the time that we have the toughest sailors in the world and the strongest families at home, and that’s something to be really prideful of.”
Alvarado’s platform as Military Spouse of the Year focuses on employment.
“This platform has given me the unique opportunity to work directly with military spouses to improve the unemployment rate and remove the stigma associated with being military spouses in the employment space,” Alvarado says.
On behalf of Brian, NASCAR & Coca-Cola will donate to USO programming that supports and strengthens military spouses, like the USO Pathfinder Program.
The USO Pathfinder program helps service members and military spouses as they transition from military service. Pathfinder Scouts provide support in employment, education, veterans benefits, financial readiness, housing, legal, family strength and wellness and volunteerism.
He says getting into the tight circle of a military community can be uplifting, but it means a lot to get out to NASCAR races and see people outside of that community show appreciation.
“Honoring the military to me is important,” Larson said. “I don’t think you can show enough support to them.”
From the Memorial Day weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 through the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers are honoring a military spouse each week as part of the USO’s Salute to Military Spouses. Click here to see Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman’s interviews with servicemembers’ spouses, and stay tuned for upcoming interviews with Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace.