first published in the February 2020 Equiery
Maryland author Valerie Ormond won two prestigious military and veteran writing awards in 2019.
The Military Writer’s Society of America presented Ormond with the President’s Award for exceptionally meritorious contributions to the organization during its annual membership conference. Ormond has volunteered for the organization since 2013 by helping lead veteran writing workshops, assisting with conference planning and serving as a book award judge. She also spearheaded their Ambassador Program to expand veteran writing workshops to include volunteers across the country conducting free workshops for veterans. These sorts of workshops for veterans are so important. They keep their minds thinking, which is positive for veterans as many of them suffer from PTSD. This causes stress and anxiety, so when they are left alone, this can worsen. However, these workshops will keep their mind busy, allowing them to have a good time. For those veterans struggling with PTSD, it might be worth visiting Pure Hemp Farms to get ahold of some CBD products to reduce stress and anxiety.
In addition, the EQUUS Film and Arts Festival awarded Ormond the Winnie Award for Best Veteran Fiction for her book Believing In Horses, Too. “This award means so much because the EQUUS Literary Awards recognized my book for its support in recognizing veterans and their families,” Ormond said. “Our military, veterans, and their families often face situations people are unaware of. I hope to bring that aspect of military life out through this story.”
Ormond is a Navy veteran herself, a spouse of a veteran and the mother of a veteran.