Submitted Photo Eva Denson is the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Minot Air Force Base Spouse of the Year.

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE — Eva Denson never wanted to be a military spouse; she had dreams of joining the military as a child, but she became pregnant at an early age. After having three children by the time she was 21 years old, Denson realized that she could not leave her children with anyone after the childhood that she had. After surviving several domestic violent relationships and a childhood sexual assault, Denson decided that she was done with dating until her now-husband, Tech. Sgt. Raymond Lee Denson Jr., came along in 2013.

Hearing all the things that she had survived and how resilient she was, Raymond Denson convinced Eva to start a Facebook Ministry to help others heal and forgive, just as she had done. The two founded NuEva Ministries, and Eva Denson published her first book in 2021, titled “Unfinished Business,” which talks about overcoming childhood sexual assault and domestic violence.

Now, following hundreds of nominations nationwide and a national competition yielding more than 20,000 votes, Eva Denson was named the 2022 Armed Forces Insurance Minot Air Force Base Spouse of the Year. Denson is currently stationed with her husband at Minot AFB.

Now in its 13th year honoring the unwavering dedication of the nation’s more than 1.1 million military spouses, Armed Forces Insurance recognizes and rewards the sacrifice of military spouses from all six branches of the Armed Forces who are advocating for others and having a tangible, measurable effect on their communities.

“To me this award means that I will get to utilize my voice that has been silenced for so many years by fear and shame. I will get to use my voice as a military spouse to help those that want to forgive and finally find the courage to say, ‘I forgive you.’ I will be able to bring awareness to a community that also has several cases of sexual assaults and domestic violence. Together, I believe that we can be the change that victims need to become survivors,” said Eva Denson.

As a base winner, Eva Denson was judged on five core criteria: overall involvement in the military community, leadership skills, community building capability, communication skills and overall personal story.

Base-level winners go on to branch level. The 2022 overall winner, Sarah Streyder of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, was selected in May in Arlington, Virginia.