Warrior of the Week: Kelly Painter

  • Published
  • By Airmen 1st Class Zachiah Roberson & Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Relocation can be intimidating to anyone, especially for families with children in school. It can mean taking them away from the only friends they've ever had and putting them into new and unfamiliar situations. Thankfully, one person suited to aid this transition loves to help.

Kelly Painter is the School Liaison Officer here and is responsible for handling all the community and school-related questions from personnel departing and arriving.

"I work with families, school districts, administrators, teachers, base agencies, military leadership, and community organizations," said Painter, who has worked on the base for 20 years. "My job basically encompasses the whole area."

While variety at the workplace is "a tremendous part of the job," Painter finds the most enjoyment when it comes to aiding others.

"My favorite thing is helping the families," said Painter. "It's a wonderful feeling to help people and share what North Dakota has to offer for their family and children."

Painter's services aren't limited to school-related issues. She also informs school districts about the effects of deployments on children, briefs local school districts, provides civilian agencies with resources to help them support military families they serve, works with families enrolled in the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to obtain special education services, helps parents become advocates for their children's education, and connects families with a school liaison at their next duty station.

Extra-curricular activities are also very important in some children's high school lives, said Painter.

She can help to find sports programs that schools have to offer at the next duty station that may match the child's current interests. This allows the child to enroll and keep them in the spotlight for sports scholarships.

This method is not only useful for sports, but many other academic programs as well.

Painter maintains a web page, as well as a Facebook page with useful information.

To help with moving, she has put a moving checklist on her webpage outlining the basic requirements someone will need when coming here or leaving for a new duty station.

For more information, contact Kelly at 747-4484.