The AUSA VOLUNTEER FAMILY OF THE YEAR AWARD is presented annually to an outstanding family in recognition of its volunteer efforts to promote the well-being of Soldiers and their family members. Recipient may be Active duty, Army civilian, or from the Army Reserve Component.

Click here: Volunteer Family of the Year Award Details & Previous Recipients

2025 VOLUNTEER FAMILY OF THE YEAR 

The AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award for promoting the well-being of soldiers and their family members is presented to the family of Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Miller.

Miller and his wife, Christy, together with their son Mason, who will be 2 in February, don’t just mirror AUSA’s mission, they multiply it, retired Command Sgt. Maj. Steven Laick, president of AUSA’s Fort Knox, Kentucky, chapter, wrote in a letter nominating the family for the award. “Their approach is a living blueprint for community engagement, making them the unmistakable choice for AUSA’s 2025 Volunteer Family of the Year.”

Miller, who joined the Army in 2013 as a combat engineer, is now assigned to the 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team at Fort Bliss, Texas, but he most recently was a senior observer, coach and trainer with the 1-410th Brigade Engineer Battalion at Fort Knox. Together with his wife, who is pursuing a degree in social work, the Millers logged more than 700 hours in a single year volunteering at the Fort Knox Warrior Warehouse, supporting more than 2,000 military families with furniture, clothing and household items.

They organized donation drives, managed inventory and coached families through the intake process. They also instituted quarterly metrics to better track families served, items distributed and volunteer hours, which in turn helped leaders direct fundraising efforts and sharpen program priorities.

“Their compassion doesn’t stop at the gates of Fort Knox,” Laick wrote. “The Millers have offered immediate aid to families who’ve lost everything in house fires and provided comfort and resources to survivors of domestic violence.”

Through a partnership with WaterStep, a Kentucky-based organization focused on safe water, sanitation and hygiene, the Millers even turned donated shoes into clean water technologies, transforming local generosity into global change, Laick wrote.

The Millers also volunteered at Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland and Central Valley Feed the Homeless, as well as the M.O.D. Squad Teen Outreach Ministry, providing mentoring to military-connecting teens on leadership, resilience and community service.

“Together, Alexander, Christy and Mason are writing a story defined not by accolades, but by action,” Laick wrote. “They are proof that one family—with open hands and open hearts—can shape the future, one gesture at a time.”

2024 VOLUNTEER FAMILY OF THE YEAR 

2024 Annual Meeting Volunteer Family of the Year Photos

The AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award for promoting the well-being of soldiers and their family members is presented to the family of Lt. Col. Tony Messenger.

Messenger, his wife, Amy, and their four sons, Connor, Liam, Colin and Keegan, embody the phrase “Staying Ready Together” while “selflessly sharing their time and talents” in the Fort Jackson, South Carolina, community, Silvia Butler, vice president of Programs and Awards for AUSA’s Fort Jackson-Palmetto State chapter, wrote in nominating the family.

“They are true innovators and trendsetters that helped shape what family support looks like across Fort Jackson today,” Butler wrote.

Entering the Army as an enlisted soldier in 1998, Tony Messenger was a staff sergeant when he was selected for a Green to Gold scholarship. He commissioned as an infantry officer in 2005 and later became a Special Forces officer. He has deployed to Iraq and Syria and now commands 3rd Squadron, 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.

Before his current assignment, Tony Messenger commanded 1st Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, at Fort Jackson. During his tenure, the Messengers revived the battalion’s Soldier Family Readiness Group and began the 72-hour room initiative, which gives drill sergeants a chance to spend time with their families during one of the most critical and time-consuming periods of the training cycle, Butler wrote.

At the end of the first 72 hours, during which drill sergeants work weekends to pick up incoming trainees, the Messengers coordinate breakfast—usually consisting of 20 pounds of bacon, 15 dozen eggs, fruit trays and more—and lunch and a potluck dinner. “At every event, Mrs. Messenger participates in the cooking and feeding of families,” Butler wrote.

The Messengers spend their time and money on the event every cycle. “The room is used by over 150 soldiers, 75 family members and 36 kids on a nine-week cycle,” Butler wrote. “From 2021 to present, approximately 865 soldiers, 430 family members and 180 children have benefited, which resulted in more quality time with their loved ones.”

They also established a Readiness and Resiliency Meditation Room, equipped with zero gravity chairs, massage chairs and white noise machines, that’s used by about 150 drill sergeants every day. They also established a lactation room for new and expecting mothers in the unit.

Two of the Messengers’ sons, Connor and Liam, helped establish a partnership with Richland Northeast High School that improved ties between junior ROTC and Fort Jackson, and the family coordinated the first all-staff visit from the high school to the installation.

The Messengers initiated a junior ROTC family day, providing 40 families with the opportunity to meet and talk to more than 35 drill sergeants about serving in the Army, and coordinated a mentorship program between 30 drill sergeants and more than 50 at-risk teens from the high school.

“The Messenger family … always strives to give their best within their family and strives to give their best to others,” Butler wrote. “Through selfless service, dedication, volunteerism and talents, the Messenger family exemplifies the values of the Army family.”