KMFRC Volunteer Profile: Joanne Cronk

I would like to focus your attention on an amazing volunteer who displays resilience daily. She has a passion for the CFB Kingston community, and focuses strongly on advocating for military families. Her name is Joanne Cronk, and she is our KMFRC Board of Directors President.

Tell us about yourself – anything you’d like to share, we’d like to hear

I was born and raised in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia and joined the Reserves while I was still in high school to pay my way through University. I graduated from St. Mary’s University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and joined the Regular Force as a BioScience Officer.

After a brief posting to Winnipeg (2001/2002), I was posted to Ottawa, where I spent seven years working as a Deputy Project Manager on research and development projects between CF Health Services Gp HQ and Defence Research and Development Canada.

I met my spouse, Rockwell, in 2006 while visiting a friend who was on language training in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC and we were married in 2007 while living on IR. He was in Victoria and I was still in Ottawa. In 2008 he was posted to CFB Trenton and we were finally able to start planning our family.

I released from the Regular Force in April 2009 and transferred back to the Reserves, and at the same time prepared for our first child, Liam, who was born in June 2009. As a family we were posted to CFB Borden in 2010, then back to CFB Trenton in 2013.

We welcomed our second child, Rachel, in July 2015, while still in Trenton, and were posted to CFB Kingston in 2016. I began volunteering with the MFRC in Borden when we arrived and I found out they needed people for their Board of Directors. I was a director on their board before accepting a nomination for Board Chairperson in April 2012. I maintained that position until our posting to Trenton, where I also joined their Board as a Director and sat on their board for 2 years, before once again accepting a nomination as Board Chairperson in April 2015 – a position I held until our posting.

I have always felt that I could not complain about how an organization was being run, if I couldn’t give some of my time to try to make it better. As a family we have benefited from many of the programs and services the MFRCs have to offer and are grateful that such an organization exists to support military families.

What are your top suggestions for maintaining work/life balance as a military spouse?

I think one of the most important pieces in maintaining a work/life balance is having a spouse who is as supportive of your work, whether it be paid work or volunteer, as you are of theirs. When my husband and I decided that I would leave the Regular Force to stay home and raise our children, we discussed the fact that I would need something to get me out of the house and volunteering would enable me to have flexibility while also allowing me to use some of my skills.

Volunteering with the local MFRC is something I can do at every base we get posted to and, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to integrate into a new community. Being a military spouse can be challenging at times. You never knowing what curve balls will be thrown at you, but having somewhere to go where people understand your challenges, and can support you when those curve balls come, is very important.

Secondly, I think that in order to maintain work/life balance as a Military spouse, you need to be flexible: flexible to pick up and move when the message comes, flexible to change plans on a moment’s notice, because he/she has to deploy again…flexible, flexible, flexible.

I believe that being a military spouse can be one of the most challenging jobs anyone does, but it can also be the most rewarding if you let it. It is all about give and take, and sadly the spouse sometimes has to give a bit more than they get to take.

Describe your primary goal when you took on the role of Board President for the KMFRC

My primary goal as Board President is to make sure that our community, both Military and Civilian, know who we are and what we do. At every base I go to, I find a lot of military families who do not use the amazing resources that are at their fingertips. I also find that there is a lack of understanding within the greater civilian community as to the needs of their military neighbours, and how they can support them. Communication is key in developing relationships to ensure we can offer the support we need to our military families.

Name something that makes you most excited about the upcoming year – both personally and professionally

As Board President, I am excited about the new relationships we are building with the great Kingston community, and about empowering our spouses. Our major fundraiser this year was the Empowering COURAGE Fashion Show and Luncheon. We hosted it during International Women’s Week and our guest speaker spoke on the topic of courage, something we need to encourage our spouses to find within themselves – to take chances and believe in themselves.

I am also very excited about the new programs on the horizon for the KMFRC, which will meet newly identified gaps in services that our military families need support with.

Personally, I am excited for our family vacation to Disney World this summer. We have not had very many family vacations, due to postings and deployments, so taking our kids to such a magical place is high on our priority list for this year…let’s hope nothing gets in the way of it 🙂

Who is your female role model, and why?

To be honest, I am not sure that I have just one female role model that I look up to. I believe that everyone is a role model in one way or another, and I look to those who have supported me throughout my life, in all of its various stages.

A role model for me is someone who is willing to take you under their wing when you are learning to fly, but also knows when it is time to let you spread your own wings. For me, these models change, depending on the role that I am in. I have had female colleagues and superiors in uniform who have supported me differently than those I have worked with, out of uniform. I think the same message rings true from them all: believe in yourself, know you can do all you put your mind to, and don’t be afraid to take chances.

Resiliency – we speak about it often, but why is it so important and what can we do within our community to encourage it?

Resiliency is one of the most important qualities a military spouse can develop, because it enables you to have the flexibility and knowledge you need to support your family, no matter where the CAF takes you. Without resiliency, you will be forever trying to keep your head above water while life is passing you by.
I have learned that in order to develop resiliency you need to step outside of your comfort zone and ask for help…the resources are out there; you just need to know where to find them. The vision of the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre is “to create a supportive community of resilient military families” and as Board President, I am looking forward to supporting the KMFRC in ensuring that our community knows what programs and services we have to offer.

If you are interested in becoming a KMFRC volunteer, please visit us at http://kmfrc.com/volunteer or contact our Volunteer Services Worker, Heather Kotelniski at 613-541-5010 x5195 who would be happy to discuss our current volunteer opportunities!