CityView Magazine

Joanne Chavonne E veryone has heard of Fayetteville's First Lady, or pos- sibly has been on the receiving end of her charity, Fayetteville Cares. Joanne's smartphone calendar stays quite full with her many volunteer and charitable en- deavors, and that's just how she likes it, she enjoys putting others' needs first. "Over the years it became apparent that this community wanted to support our military neighbors but oſten did not know what or how to do it," said Joanne. "In 2007 a group of us — George Breece, Kirk deViere, Tony and me — decided to form Fayetteville Cares." Much like the Family Readiness Groups in the units, Fay- "Anytime you help others your own life is enriched. My work with the military and their families has been rewarding and humbling. Seeing the challenges many of them are facing and their commitment and strength has inspired me." 64 | January/February • 2012 J etteville Cares is a Community Readiness Group for Fort Bragg. In their first four years they have hosted two "Boots and Booties" baby showers for 1,000 military moms each, sent 10,000 care packages in November 2009 for "Operation Holiday Cheer" plus hundreds more throughout the four years and supported almost 10,000 single soldiers (6,800 in 2010 alone) with their Basics for Barracks program. Fay- etteville Cares also has assisted dozens of businesses and organizations to donate entertainment tickets and other items to their military neighbors. "Anytime you help others your own life is enriched. My work with the military and their families has been rewarding and humbling," Joanne said. "Seeing the challenges many of them are facing and their commitment and strength has in- spired me. I have a husband who comes home every night- and is there to share the ups and downs of daily life with. I am not concerned his job may seriously injure him or has the potential to take his life. For many of the spouses and children these are real and "normal" situations. Being able to get to know some of these brave men and women, the ones that raised their right hand and the ones that love that sol- dier or airman has been a giſt to my life." Like every real housewife, Joanne shared how she has transitioned over the years. When her children were young she was a more traditional housewife, cooking dinner most nights, helping with homework, and volunteering in class- rooms. Now as she and her husband have become empty nesters, she does not do a lot of cooking. In fact, Tony teases that they should just get a picture of an oven for their new house instead of buying a real one. With their schedules they tend to eat out more and do a lot on the go, but still manage to have dinner with their sons most every week. Sometimes she cooks, sometimes they go out and occasionally their boys cook too. Joanne's most requested meal? Her chili. Her banana pudding however, gets rave reviews as well. The Chavonne's lead pretty busy lives, but Joanne keeps her marriage balanced by getting away for long weekends to the beach to recharge and reconnect. She enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and keeps it altogether with her smartphone. Now that's a great strategy to employ from one smart housewife. L

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