McChord Field spouse Kimberlee Richardson has gotten pretty good at searching for and applying for grants and scholarships to fund her education.

She's now two-for-two when it comes to earning scholarship money through something affiliated with the Air Force.

Last year, Richardson won a $1,000 scholarship from the Air Force Services Club Membership Scholarship Program for her essay on what it meant to be an Air Force family. On Saturday, Richardson will be honored as one of five McChord spouses and nine family members who will receive a combined $25,000 in scholarship money from the McChord Officers' Spouses Club.

For the $2,000 OSC scholarship, Richardson wrote an essay on why she wants to go to school and what she plans to do with her education.

"I like to write," said Richardson, a Nebraska native whose husband is in the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

With one child already set to transfer to the University of Idaho and another a junior at Bonney Lake High School, Richardson routinely helps her children research scholarships online.

"I've filled out so many applications (myself)," she said. "I thought, ‘Somebody has to get it, why not me?'"

Richardson is currently working on finishing an online speech and language pathology program offered through Chemeketa Community College. She plans on working to help people with speech deficiencies when she graduates and gets her certification to become a speech language pathology assistant.

She's continued working part-time as a para-educator at a local special needs preschool while she is finishing her degree.

"Making time to study has been the hardest part for me," said Richardson, who's been at McChord for about four years.

The OSC scholarship money will help Richardson pay for her final year of school.

"I'm amazed with how much scholarship money they're able to give to spouses and dependents," she said. "It's a testament to what a great organization they are that they are able to help McChord families."

Other McChord spouses who won OSC scholarships include Jacquelyn Wray, Sharon Fardell and Lori Wolff. The Jeanne Czubaj award went to Maria Endris. For high school seniors, Gig Harbor High senior Nicholas Lanier was named the Joan Wasserstrom Sudent Scholarship Award Recipient.

Outstanding Student Merit Awards went to Melissa Mummery (Bellarmine Prep), Kathryn Bukata (Gig Harbor), Elizabeth Morrison (Emerald Ridge), Peter Iglesias (Decatur), Kailey Shepherd (Clover Park), Alexa Endris (Bellarmine Prep), Ashley Mason (Rogers) and Kristian Pfennig (Yelm).

The McChord OSC operates the McChord Thrift Shop on base. The Thrift Shop is nearly entirely run by volunteers, and all of the profits it generates go directly back into the McChord community in the form of grants and scholarships.