Parents Magazine selects 445th Airlift Wing reservist for best blog

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  • By 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  More than 33,900 people voted when a national parenting magazine asked readers to nominate and choose the best blogs out there, and in the end, a 445th Airlift Wing sergeant and blogger came out on top.

Tech. Sgt. Julie Weckerlein, 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, and her husband, Martin, earned the 2011 Parents Magazine Readers Choice award for Best All-Around Mom Blog for their blog, Julie and Martin.

These days, the influence of a blog, especially a blog written by and for parents, is undeniable, according to the editors of Parents Magazine in a statement about the contest.

Exactly 1,213 blogs were nominated in 12 parenting-related categories. Once nominated, blogs could win a Readers' Choice award and an Editors' Pick award in each category. The Readers' Choice received the most votes from fans, friends, and family, while the Editors' Pick winning blogs were chosen by the editors of Parents magazine and the editors and bloggers of Parents.com.

"We were really amazed by the outpouring of support that came in for our blog, especially from our Air Force family," said Sergeant Weckerlein, who started the blog in June 2001 while stationed in Germany as a way for her stateside family to follow her wedding plans. "When we learned we were nominated, I posted a note about it online, and word spread fast, especially within our Air Force network."

At the time she started the blog (www.julieandmartin.com), she was an Airman stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, while Martin was a tank commander in the German Army. Initially, she only posted about wedding-related content, but after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she started writing in-depth about her and Martin's role in the military response. She continued writing for the past decade, gathering a loyal following along the way.

While she regularly posts about life with her family just outside Washington D.C, Sergeant Weckerlein said the blog really proved its worth during her deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, during which both Julie and Martin blogged as she traveled around the Middle East and he stayed at their home in Northern Virginia with their daughter. She said it was the best way to stay involved in each other's lives.

"For our readers, I think people really gained an interesting perspective about what a deployment is like for a family," said Sergeant Weckerlein. "Only a small percentage of Americans ever serve in the military, and I think it's fair to say most don't realize that moms deploy, too, and that dads are totally capable of holding down the home front by themselves. So our blog was able to offer a glimpse as to what that's like."

Though, Sergeant Weckerlein still blogs to share her life with extended family and friends, she said it's great that other readers enjoy her writing.

"Whether they are military or not, I think people can relate to us in a variety of ways," she said. "We're just a hard-working couple trying to balance the demands of raising three young kids with our marriage and careers."

And the judges at Parents Magazine agreed.

"Julie knows just what her readers want, and how to deliver it to them, and she does so in such a captivating way," they declared on the contest website. "Not only is the blog a fun read for all parents, but it's also a great resource for military families looking for a blog about a family they can relate to."