The University of Kentucky Extension Service recent honors from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) are shining a broader light on work that reaches far beyond traditional Extension work.  

Part of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Kentucky Extension Military Collaborative, a multidisciplinary effort to strengthen statewide partnerships in support of military-connected families and professionals, the awards recognize the college’s leadership in OneOp — a single point of entry professional development resource for military family service providers — and its flagship Military Family Readiness Academy (MFRA).

The UK OneOp team serves as one of several land-grant institutions around the nation collaborating on the MFRA.  

OneOp recently received the 2025 NEAFCS Excellence in Multi-State Collaboration Award (3rd place national; 2nd place Southern Region) and the Communications: Internet Education Technology Award (3rd place national; 2nd place Southern Region) for its role in developing the 2024 MFRA series, “Economic Readiness and Military Family Well-Being.”

The same skills recognized by NEAFCS — strong partnerships, clear digital instruction and practical, research-informed content — are the skills that make UK a trusted leader within OneOp and a reliable partner to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).    

“These awards represent the strength of collaboration across universities, Extension professionals and the Department of Defense,” said Nichole Huff, assistant Extension professor in the School of Human Environmental Sciences at Martin-Gatton CAFE and state Extension specialist for family finance and resource management. “They show that our peers across the country recognize this work as sound, useful and grounded. That reinforces confidence in OneOp and in the systems supporting military family readiness.”  

Huff co-authored the MFRA course, Foundations for Military Family Financial Readiness, with Jenny Rea, of the University of Arizona.  

The MFRA is an annual series developed through OneOp, a free, open-access professional development initiative powered by nine land-grant universities in partnership with DoD and USDA. OneOp creates virtual learning for military family service professionals, CES agents and community providers who may be serving military families from rural counties, urban centers or overseas installations.

The 2024 MFRA series focused on economic security, responding to documented declines in financial comfortability of both civilians and military families. Service members and their families face unique pressures: frequent moves, disrupted careers for spouses, varying costs of living and changing access to support networks. The series framed financial readiness as part of overall well-being and provided practitioners with tools to identify stress points, connect families to resources and reinforce stability.

“OneOp gives our college a direct role in building the knowledge base of those who support military families,” said Kristen Jowers, OneOp program coordinator and UK Extension specialist.

The NEAFCS Excellence in Multi-State Collaboration Award highlights how universities coordinate content, logistics and outreach across state lines. That structure mirrors OneOp’s design, which relies on coordinated teams across land-grant institutions to develop programming for a national audience. The Communications: Internet Education Technology Award recognizes effective use of digital tools — another core element of OneOp’s mission to reach dispersed providers through live and on-demand learning.

“It’s an honor to see the academy recognized at both the regional and national levels,” said Jowers. “This recognition affirms our shared commitment to equipping professionals who serve our nation’s military families.”

For information on the Military Family Readiness Academy and access to free MFRA materials and recordings, visit oneop.org/mfra.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under subaward number 2023-48770-41333. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Department of Agriculture.  

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Writer: Jordan Strickler, jstrickler@uky.edu    

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