Congrats to Matt and Katie!

By Rick Blumenberg / @rickblumenberg
"Congratulations Matt & Katie!"  These are words I wrote to my nephew Matthew Britt and his wife Katie on the occasion of his graduation from college. In the few years I’ve written this blog there have been several times I’ve written about persons who had gone to be with the Lord in heaven as a tribute to the great life they had lived and how well they had lived it. Thankfully Matt is still very much alive and living in Missouri with his wife and daughter, but from the time he graduated high school until this college graduation, he put a lot of miles on his boots. I write this tribute because I think he deserves to be recognized for his service as well as for his commitment to making a better life for his family.

Matt Britt & parents Carolyn & Jimmy

Matt served three tours of duty in the Iraq and even traveled to Africa where he spent a year in Kenya supporting the US embassy in matters pertaining to the Kenyan and Somali elections, among other things. He was one of thousands of military men and women who have served our great nation so faithfully in very complicated and dangerous circumstances. While we were going on with our lives Matt and his buddies were risking their lives to serve their country in what was often very difficult situations. 

After Matt returned home, he and Katie settled down and started a family, then left the army in 2011 right at the time when jobs were almost non-existent. Life after the army wasn’t easy for them but they refused to give in to discouragement and instead they decided Matt should go back to college and get his degree. It was a big decision to go to school full time, but Katie encouraged it and was willing to work to make it possible, so Matt agreed. He went year-round and didn’t quit until he was finished, and graduated with two degrees, a BS in Political Science with a minor in psychology, and a Bachelor of General Studies with minor in Political Science.

Matt & Katie

The graduation, like the army, was a family accomplishment. Katie didn’t wear the uniform or take the tests, but she was there with Matt through it all and I am so proud of both of them. 

Part of a military family, Matt was encouraged (and prayed for) by his Dad, a navy veteran and his mom, a navy wife. His brother Chris, who graduated from West Point and served, among other places, in Korea, met Jen, an army dental surgeon, who became his wife. See what I mean? They are a military family.

As I said earlier, I am so proud of both of them and I feel Matt deserves a standing ovation for a life he is living well and with an obvious commitment to making life even better for his wife Katie, his family, and his country. Thanks Matt we really appreciate your service.

I’m Rick Blumenberg, and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.