Sabrina Bonnette and Claire Bonnette

[00:02] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Hi, my name is Sabrina Sagehorn Bonnette and we're here today. It's May 8, 2022, and I'm going to have a talk with my daughter, Claire.

[00:12] CLAIRE: Hi, my name is Claire. I'm going to be 21 in a couple weeks. It's Monday, May 9, 2022, and we're in the Ozarks, Missouri. I'm interviewing my mother, Sabrina, to talk about some of her experiences from her history and her rich life.

[00:36] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: And I'm already forgetting things here on May 9, so we want to put them down on in the recording.

[00:41] CLAIRE: Okay. So what. What did you want to be when you grew up? When you were a kid, did you always know that you would be in the navy and take this career path?

[00:52] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: No. But from the time I was about four, I always told my dad I wanted to be a pilot and fly planes, and I was just enthralled with it, because the first time I flew on an airplane, I was eight years old, and I flew by myself from San Francisco to LAX to visit my aunt Eleanor, who said she'd be there with bells on. And she was literally there with bells on. And we're going to meet Carmen Chandler, my cousin that I visited that day, this Saturday.

[01:22] CLAIRE: Okay. And when you enlisted, what were some of the reasons that you joined the navy, and how did you choose the branch of service?

[01:33] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: After five years of doing retail service, which was car sales, jewelry, and Macy's, I had had the last little old lady tell me, are you sure they're all in the bag, honey. And I just said, there is something more important to do. And my grandfather was a lieutenant in the navy during World War Two. Luckily for him, he was a supply officer. Oakland Naval shipyard and treasure island were his duty stations. So I chose the navy. I wanted to do something more important than retail sales.

[02:06] CLAIRE: Were any of your other family members in the military?

[02:09] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes. My uncle art, who was my mom and sisters. My husband was in the korean war in the army. My mother's twin was in the army, and he was stationed in Germany. Michael, my brother, was in the Marine Corps. He was at Camp Lejeune and many others, many other places that we can't even, some of them you can't even talk about.

[02:31] CLAIRE: So how long were you in the Navy, and what title did you retire with?

[02:38] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: I served in the Navy for 23 and a half years, and I started as an e four. And over a period of eight tours, in 2007, I made chief petty officer, which is e seven.

[02:52] CLAIRE: And do you remember any moment that was particularly funny that you can remember?

[02:58] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: In the military, yes, we had a ball. I would do it all over again if I could. I was very fortunate that I was the sender, not the sendee for mobilization. So for my role was I was the person that you didn't want calling you. I was a personnel specialist. And for mobilization, if I was calling you as a reservist, that meant a lot of times that you were being recalled to active duty. So that was not funny. But while we were at EPMAC, which is a manning control authority, they're the ones that if you have an unplanned loss in a forward command, then I have to divert people to that command to help them with their manning. And at MeDMEC, we had a six story building in New Orleans on Dauphine street, and we would do a yearly Mardi Gras parade using the hand trucks and the little hallway vehicles and build floats. So we had an annual Mardi Gras parade inside the building, and it was just really a fun time. We did the myth of Sisyphus as our theme, and there's just so the camaraderie that you build. When you girls were little in Alameda, our crew was only, we had eight people, and we'd always go out to dinner, and they'd let me bring you girls, and we were just a tight knit family, and I'm still friends with a lot of those people from that command, and that was in 2003. So, yeah.

[04:30] CLAIRE: Would you be able to tell, tell us again a list of order and all the cities that you were moved to throughout your career in the Navy?

[04:39] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes.

[04:40] CLAIRE: And when my sister and I were born in that timeline as well.

[04:45] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes, I joined the Navy in 1990, and I was stationed in, went to Orlando, and then I was stationed at NAS Alameda, servicing the payrol. They had ships there, too.

[04:56] CLAIRE: And that's California?

[04:57] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes. Alameda, California, 1990 to 94. Then I got married to Durwood, my first husband. And the only place they would co locate us is New Orleans. So it was transferred to New Orleans, and then about three years later, he got out of the military, and I stayed in New Orleans, and I went to another command, Etmec, that I just spoke of. And from Etmec, they offered me a squadron, VR 54, the Revelers, which was a C 130 squadron, which was one of the first squadrons down on the ground after 2001. And that's when you were born. Emma was born in 1999, but 2001, I was at VR 54, and I remember being on baby leave when 911 happened, and. Yeah, so that was when you came into the world. But then from VR 54, we went back to Alameda because your dad at the time was going to get stationed in Bakersfield.

[06:00] CLAIRE: And you met my father in New Orleans, right?

[06:02] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes. I decided, you know, when in Rome, I married a Cajun after the first one had moved away back to Colorado, but we met downtown at a bar. How exciting. And he was an oilfield salesman and just had the most beautiful drawl and most beautiful green eyes, and I fell for him hard, so. But we didn't end up, you know, that was 2005 in Alameda, and we decided to call it quits. He's, you know, never been a great husband, but he's always been a good dad for you, so. And then my next duty station, Alameda, your dad moved back to New Orleans. And so I followed, and I was able to get transferred early, actually, to follow him to try to stay married. And I think that was 2005. And then we all had to egress in 2005 from New Orleans, as everybody knows, and that was Katrina Hitt. And so we got to live in Texas for about four months, and let me tell you, driving two kids under six and a beagle all the way from New Orleans to Fort West, Texas via the university there. And it wasn't Baylor, it was a university that. I can't remember the name, but it was somewhere near Vicksburg. And he says, you don't need to be around here. I said, excuse me, but it was a challenge. We stayed in Vicksburg, and then we made the rest of the way to Fort Worth. And they were very welcoming, and it was a challenge because it was just me taking care of you. But the daycares and the schools were fabulous. So we did okay there. Then we moved back to Belchase, Louisiana, and I finished up with Commander Navy Reserve Forces command. And then they decided they didn't want to do the coup anymore from hurricanes. So the whole headquarters of the Navy reserve, which I really enjoyed that tour, we transferred them to Norfolk, and I was a big part of that human capital asset transfer, but they didn't have a billet for me to stay in New Orleans close to your dad. So they gave me a choice of East Coast, West coast, or Springfield, Missouri. I said, Springfield, Missouri is 10 hours, you know, the eastern coast and west coast one was a deployable squadron with two kids under six. I couldn't do it, so I chose Springfield and then retired out of there in 2013.

[08:44] CLAIRE: All right. Yeah, I. So, I was born in Gretna, right?

[08:47] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes.

[08:48] CLAIRE: And I was very lucky to spend the first eight years of my life in such a culturally rich and diverse town. And I think it really shaped me into who I was, but not as much so as my wonderful mother. And then we moved. So then we moved here. So my mom worked in Springfield, but we moved to Ozark, which is a little suburb about 20 minutes south of Springfield in 2009. Yes, right. And we drove the 12 hours with two dogs and a U Haul and my older sister as well. And we got here and it was great. It was definitely a little bit of a reverse culture shock, but the safety was great. Our neighborhood's great. We still live in the same house that we originally moved here in. You know, we've gone through a few dogs since then. Now we have three who are our entire life.

[09:37] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: I have a grand dog.

[09:38] CLAIRE: Yes. One of my own, grand dog to my mom. But as well as the military, another one of my mother's greatest passions is women's rights. She's always been very involved in that community, which has always been a great inspiration to me. So, mom, can you tell me what it means to be a woman in the military and how that kind of ties into your passions about women's rights?

[10:04] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes. Well, I actually love the military because it's one of the corporate entities that you have equal pay because it's all transparent. So Admiral Robin Braun, before she retired, made just as much as Admiral Mike Fisher before he retired. And Chief Sabrina Bonnette makes just as much as chief whomever. So there's no, it's not like contractors that can cheat on the pay scale. So that's transparent. And then they're all about, when I was in the military, I didn't, they did have, some women couldn't go into combat and all that, and they've really progressed on that. But the main thing I had to teach a lot of senior people was, if you're going to call me honey, you better put petty Officer first class or chief Honey. That's chief Honey to you, sir. Don't call me honey. We're in a business, we're in their military, and there's no place for that. And I had to, I had to set a lot of people straight because we work too hard to be talked down to by anyone. And I've had to correct ladies. And now that I would prefer you not call me those endearing terms at work, it's demeaning. If you're going to call me honey, you have to call the gentleman over here honey. So that was the only. I was very fortunate I didn't have, it was very fair and balanced for me in my career because I was an administrator and it was so diverse. And they did test you on your abilities and your leadership and your ability to get the job done rather than your sex. So that is a really, that's a huge benefit for women. And I just wish every woman could have the military experience and know that they have a chance to earn just as much as the men. But that's what, that's part of it. And then in the military, they don't ask you with whom or if you're having sex. They just say, here's your options. You know, diaphragm, birth control, IUD. They just, they set you up for, because they can't get a ship underway if half the crew comes back pregnant in four months.

[12:13] CLAIRE: So they provided all that for you?

[12:15] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: They provide all that. They educate you. I didn't know I needed glasses till I was 23 when I joined the Navy. So they provide you preventative health care. And I think I just hate seeing the poverty and the people struggling when they don't necessarily have to, if they would just have access to preventive care. And that's why I feel so strongly. And there's so many parents out there that weren't ready to be parents. I mean, we've, the state of Missouri has lost 1000 foster kids, so that's not a good thing. So to prevent that, you know, prevention, education, and access is something I believe strongly in as well as choice. And I've been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for the last twelve years. During the military, I relied on Planned Parenthood for a couple things that, you know, the doctors there couldn't refer to because they had the gag rule. And I volunteering with them to go up to Jefferson City and talk to these legislators and say, look, you have no business in my daughter's exam rooms. So that's part of it. It's just so opposite of what the Navy's motto is, which is your life, your love, our help. And if we could just get the help instead of all the fettered access and all this religion being put into our legislatures. It just really bothers me to my core that people are still dying in the military, defending against religious extremism overseas, yet our house in this state and in the US Congress is embracing it. Yeah, it's a different religion, but it's still extremism. And it just bothers me to my core. And that's why I'm so strong about reproductive rights.

[14:02] CLAIRE: Yes, definitely.

[14:03] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: And I want every woman to be able to have their economic futures, you know, decide if and birth control fails more than people know. So I just want each person. And then it affects men, too. Men get bogged down with the child support, and then they can't get ahead. So I just would like to help solve the poverty problem through education, access, and prevention.

[14:27] CLAIRE: Choice always. Yes. I'm very grateful that my mother had access to the choices she needed to early in her life so that she was able to give me the life that. The wonderful life that I've had. Because if, you know, if she were to not have had those choices, that child would have not. Would have limited her greatly and would not have had the best life that it could have had, like my sister and I have. And my mom was able to give us that because she had access to those choices at that time in her life.

[14:59] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yeah, it would have ended up with a bunch of kids in a trailer park in Modesto, California.

[15:03] CLAIRE: Exactly. So I know another one of the reasons that you joined the military is to defend the freedoms of everyone in America, but also of women against religious extremism. And you kind of already talked about that. Let me see. There was something else I wanted to say.

[15:31] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Well, and I'd like to be in the military. I had one deployment to Bahrain, and I love to learn about other cultures, but I could not understand a culture where they could throw women and children out on the street. And that's just how it is. They don't even do paperwork. They just say, I divorce you three times, and these women, they can't work, but the kids aren't taken care of either. And that's another reason I feel so strongly that women need to be empowered. Their own choices.

[16:02] CLAIRE: Yes. So with the military, you're very passionate about it, you're very supportive of it. What would you say to someone who was maybe my age, who kind of believed that the military represented this very traditional, conservative America that is very, like, associated with, you know, the Republican Party and defending America, the version of America that some. A lot of, you know, republican legislators would like to see? So what would you say to those people who kind of, you know, disapprove of the military and don't like what it stands for because they want to see a more progressive America, and they believe the military kind of represents the less progressive America that we're kind of seeing?

[16:46] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Well, I would say to them, the military is as wide and varied as our entire nation is. It's not one party, period. It's not of one thinking. You know, the cultures. I mean, you met Wei Wu. The cultures and the experience and the people are so different and varied. It was a really beautiful experience to meet people from everywhere else. Even the girls from Florida were new to me at boot camp, but I was able to understand, you know, different people better. You know, growing up in a silo, you don't. You fear what you don't know. And then in the military, you get to know all kinds of different people. We had sailors from Nigeria, we had sailors from China that I was able to help Lieutenant Wu now and get his citizenship. And I think if we could encourage more people to join the military or shoot, even have a mandatory two years like Israel does, then at least they get preventive care. But in addition, they would get to get out of there with silos of, oh, I'm in Georgia, and I think like a Georgian, you know, I'm in, oh, and, oh, there's California, and they're all like this. Well, California is not all like anything. It's as varied as the whole nation. And people could come together on a shared mission, and I just think it would do the country a world of good for people to get out of those silos and learn to meet, you know, don't fear people. Meet new people. I'm a xenophile, not a xenophobe.

[18:21] CLAIRE: Right.

[18:22] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: So.

[18:23] CLAIRE: And something another thing is. So you obviously are, you know, wanting to encourage more people to enlist. But what if, you know, someone says to you, I don't want to risk my life for this country when I'm not proud to live in this country, in the state that it's become?

[18:42] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Well, that's a heavy one. That wasn't on the list, Claire.

[18:45] CLAIRE: I know.

[18:47] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: None of those work.

[18:48] CLAIRE: Yeah, that's because I'm obviously very grateful for you and your service and most veterans, you know, it's how I'm able to go to college is the GI bill that my mom passed on to me. But, you know, with everything that's happening, it's hard to be proud of this country sometimes.

[19:03] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: You know, I understand that pushback because there are things happening in this country, like they're trying to go back and suppress voting and suppress rights, and instead of, you know, it is tending to go backwards. But the military, you're defending against even more evil things, like the really far religious extremists that are killing their own people. And the people that commit the racial genocide in Thailand, they're having a problem in other countries, and you're defending against that. So you keep it off your shores, and it does, you know, it's a good living, and they give you housing, and you have pride. Not everybody goes to the front, but I couldn't argue with somebody that says they don't want to risk their life, because inevitably, you are going to get mobilized, or you're going to be at the forefront, or you'll have friends that are at the forefront, or your ship will be out there. So I couldn't really argue with them. I could tell them that you could earn $50,000 in four years living in Springfield, Missouri, as an e five.

[20:21] CLAIRE: I know that you have some feelings about how the Equal Rights Amendment plays into the military and the selective service. You want to tell me a little bit about that?

[20:31] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yeah, that's right. It goes back to that mandatory service. I think, while it might frighten some people that two years mandatory would do so much to bring people together, but we could never enact anything like this elective service, even though they proposed it for women, until we ratify or add the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution. It's been ratified. That's done. It's just a matter of getting it into the constitution because you realize your mother served on active duty for 23 and a half years in a country where she's not an unequal citizen. I don't have equal rights under the law. It's three sentences. The equal rights amendment. No one's rights shall be abridged on the count of sex. That's it. Which means rights over your own person and your own future and your own body.

[21:20] CLAIRE: Exactly. And I. I don't know too many other, you know, people my age who can. Some of their core memories growing up are being taken to women's rights rallies, protests, things like that. And I'm very thankful to have had those experiences. Do you have any other memories of me or me and Emma that you're particularly fond of?

[21:47] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: I have so many memories of you. Your first. Well, and your first sentence, but I can't really say it on here. Just the joy that you brought me, the words, the singing, the poetry. Each of you knew out of our sight poetry before you could read, because we read every night. We read doctor Seussenhe, Sandra Boynton, and reading stories with you. And then when we moved to Alameda from New Orleans, I remember you guys gathered all the stuffed animals we had, and I was like, what are you doing? And it was therapeutic, but it was. I just remember it vividly. And I'm like, why do you have all the stuffed animals out on the couch? Because there's a hurricane mom, we got all the stuffed animals out. We got all the animals out and they're not going to get flooded in. And it was a giant mess. But I could not be mad because it was so adorable and you were there to rescue everybody. That's when we had Cairo and Max, the great day.

[22:48] CLAIRE: Yeah. We still have the same kitchen table that we had back from when I was a toddler, and there's still glitter stuck inside of it from when we would play dress up and we got little kids makeup and we would smear glitter all over our face, you know, then it would get on the table.

[23:09] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: That's because you guys were sitting on the table. That was for the Renaissance fair. I took you as little fairies to the Renaissance fair and you guys had a good time.

[23:19] CLAIRE: Yeah. That's another thing, you know, as well as, like, the more important moments, you know, like women's rights protests. My mother, like, if there's any sort of festival going on, we're there. Like, even if it's like a greek festival night at a bar, we're there.

[23:40] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yes.

[23:42] CLAIRE: She just, you know, she knows what's going on all the time, which is so important in a town like Springfield, too, because, you know, a lot of people think that there's not enough to do. But I'm like, have you met my mother? Like, are you kidding? She will find something to do. So definitely some of the most memorable and interesting are the Renaissance fairs. I mean, I don't know anyone else who really has been to one of those, especially growing up, but we would go, if not every year, every couple of years. We've even gone recently and our outfits have only got better every time. So those are amazing. And just any kind of festival, the arts festival, we weren't able to make it this year because my finals and my job, but we would always go to those. And my mom just. She always made sure that we had a very rich and interesting and valuable life and experience. And I'm really, really grateful for that.

[24:43] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Thank you. Yeah. New Orleans was all about the festivals.

[24:46] CLAIRE: Yes. Mardi Gras, which we touched on a little bit. I mean, we heard they were having a parade here, Christmas parade. And we were like, that's a truck. Like, and, you know, they're throwing candy from vehicles, but we're used to gigantic sculptures on top of tour buses that are 30ft tall going down the street, you know, during Mardi Gras, so. But, you know, the parades here, they still have their charm, but they're not quite like the ones that were in New Orleans.

[25:17] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Shrimp and petroleum festival. Right.

[25:20] CLAIRE: And we're actually. We're gonna go back to New Orleans for my 21st birthday, which we're very excited about, you know, kind of getting back to our roots and obviously, like, what better place to go on your 21st and Bourbon street.

[25:33] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Exactly.

[25:35] CLAIRE: And my mom orchestrated that entire trip, which I'm very grateful for. Let me see. Is there anything else right now that you wanted to talk about?

[25:51] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: My family or. My family keeps trying to get me to move back to California, but the cost of living is so great, I can't.

[26:00] CLAIRE: Yeah, that's the one thing that's really.

[26:02] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Redeeming, because when you retire from the military, it's like, you know, you just get half of your pay and no housing allowance. And if we could get housing allowance, that would be perfect.

[26:14] CLAIRE: Yes. And going along with all of the fun places that she took us growing up, my mom has always been the cool mom, which, you know, like, from mean girls. But all of my friends are always like, I love your mom so much. You know, she's just. She's so cool because, you know, their parents track them on apps, on their phones.

[26:37] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Oh, no.

[26:37] CLAIRE: And my mom, here I was, you know, a year or two ago, going out with some. Some random boy to his, you know, farmhouse out in Marshfield. And she's like, oh, just send me the address. You know, so I'm very grateful for that as well. You know, she. She trusts us, and that. That's the big thing because, you know, we're young kids. My sister and I are still. My sister's moved out now, but I'm still living with. With my mom. But even growing up, you know, she let us do what we needed to do. She trusted us, you know, with boyfriends, a significant others. She wasn't afraid to talk about things that needed to be talked about to give us the resources we needed. And I'm proud to say that I beat teen pregnancy, and my sister has as well.

[27:25] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Imagine that.

[27:26] CLAIRE: Yes. But.

[27:28] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: And it was important to me, too, because of my mother. Some of the most influential people in my family. Well, you know, of course, my mother, she was a mother at 17. She got married to get out of the house, but we're talking about 1960, when they didn't have the pill, when they didn't have choice. So she got married to get out of the house, and they were married for a good 30 years. But a lot of the life lessons from her resulting divorce after 25 years of marriage is why I'm so strong on women's empowerment. She wasn't able to get a credit cardinal. And this was in from when I was 14. This is in 19. 80. 73 is when Roe was passed. But in 1980, she couldn't get a credit card. She couldn't get a house. She couldn't get. She finally was able to get a lease. But I saw this happening to my mother and I said, that's never going to be me, nor is it going to be my daughter. So that's another reason so emphatic about women's rights. It was a very difficult time for her.

[28:33] CLAIRE: Right. And I know my mother's mother, my grandmother has been such a large influence on your life as well as mine. Are there any other fun memories you have of her that maybe shaped you into who you are today?

[28:50] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: My mother, she was just the most brilliant and funny lady I've ever met. She helped me become an Olympic trial swimmer. She was the one that helped me. She let me decide if I wanted to follow my swim coach, Gordon Collette, who was also a very huge influence in my life. And I did. And I moved away in my freshman year to board with a family to follow my swim coach. But she let me make that decision. She said, this is up to you because I don't want you blaming me if it doesn't work out. And just. She was just so funny and so full of verve and worked really hard to give us what we had and worked really hard to help me go to all the swim meets and pay for the hotels and eventually was able to. And she also said, if you're going to do it, you have to do it right. You're not going to quit on me. She never let me quit. Because you're not a quitter, Sabrina. And I was able to make it. I believe I placed 7th in the 1980 Olympic trials and 400 made her free.

[30:01] CLAIRE: Wasn't it like, 7th in the nation.

[30:04] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: 15Th in the world?

[30:05] CLAIRE: 15Th in the world, yes. My mother was almost an Olympics member, but they boycotted the Olympics that year. That was the only reason that she didn't get to do that. But she still gets out to the pool sometimes. Right?

[30:17] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: And another big influence in my life was William Ellsworth Hoyt. He's a senior chief because I was going through some difficulties. And I told him, well, I can't do that because of this, because of a situation I was having with anxiety. And he says, well, if you're going to use that as an excuse, you better just get out of the Navy right now. And he had, he was very much like my mother's mentality. My mother always used to say, oh, you're not sick. It's in your head. Get over it. And that was her way of showing love. And that's how the senior chief was. And then also, I had a wonderful master chief, believe in me in New Orleans. And there was a lot of stuff that was going down those years, 2005 to 2009 for me, relationship wise and all that. But I stuck my neck out, and I became the president of the cultural diversity education team. And I had confidence in doing that because I had this one person believe in me so much. He's still a friend to this day. That's Master Chief Ken Rummel. His speech when he takes command is he doesn't believe in any isms, and he doesn't want any isms in his command. No racism, no sexism, no, you know, none of that. And he has. He's just a remarkable man. And his belief in me spurred me on to be able to make chief.

[31:40] CLAIRE: All right.

[31:42] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: So what that was another favorite part of the Navy is the culture diversity team, because I could get speakers and Bollywood dancers and authors and history professors all in at no cost, with a promise of meeting Admiral McDonald, who I'm still in touch with, Craig O. MacDonald. So that was a really fun time for me, and it helped me get my first job out of the Navy. So the Ozark chamber of Commerce.

[32:13] CLAIRE: Yeah, Ozark Chamber of Commerce. I remember that. That was great. We always knew when, you know, the new businesses were opening. I've been to ribbon cuttings, which adds that to the list of things that, you know, I've been my mother's plus one, too. And she really loved that job because my mom, more than anything, she is a social butterfly, not to use a cliche term, which has always been a real inspiration to me because that's probably the only or the biggest way that we're different is if we go to a dinner or a party. My mom's like, oh, let's sit with those new people. And I'm like, no, let's sit by ourselves. So she's really helped me come out of my shell that way and become more confident because otherwise I wouldn't be, you know. But is there. This is kind of a heavy one, but is there a certain way you'd want to be remembered? I know that's very generic.

[33:11] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Small is heavy. But I think about that a lot, and I just want to be known as the chief that took care of her sailors. And I'm now working for the state, and I try to take care of our veterans that are trying to find jobs. And my heart is in it and I'm passionate about it, and I am a genuine, I genuinely care. And that was something that was in my retirement there because I had someone questioned me once, so I doubled down on caring. They said it was a person that ended up getting out of the Navy, but they said, you're the only one that cares. You know, and at the time, I was a pn one. You're the only one that cares. And I said, well, then it's a good gosh darn thing here that I'm here, isn't it?

[34:05] CLAIRE: No, I definitely.

[34:07] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: I didn't say darn, but I did. I said, then it's a good thing I'm here, isn't it? With a few expletives.

[34:14] CLAIRE: Yes. And that, you know, goes back into what I was talking about just with everything. And you're just so emotionally intelligent, and you're just, you make everyone in the room so comfortable and you're so friendly with everyone. And I think that's why everyone really, really loves being around you. And that's another strength that you have at your current job, which after you worked in the chamber of Commerce until 2013, you started in 2013, and you ended in 2016. You started the job center here in Springfield. And my mom has helped so many people. She's helped me, you know, through this job. But, you know, employment, especially for veterans, is very, very tough. And so I'm sure everyone that she's helped is very grateful, and I'm very grateful that she's able to help them there. At the job center. Is there, is there a part of your current job that, that you really like or a recent highlight or anything?

[35:12] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Well, I like to put on the hiring events. That's the most fun.

[35:16] CLAIRE: Yeah. My mom organizes these gigantic hiring fairs. Job fairs. You know, she's always like. I'm like, what are you doing today? She's like, I have my job fair. You know, I've been, like, preparing for it, you know, you know, all week, you know, two weeks. I'm like, oh, right, right. I. So she helps a lot of people with those. She also dabbles in graphic design. She's self taught. She makes all flyers for them with really, you know, really simple software. But she. I mean, they look great.

[35:47] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: My hat.

[35:48] CLAIRE: Yes.

[35:48] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: They don't want to give me the software, so I hack it.

[35:50] CLAIRE: Yes. Yeah. I recently, I tried to show her adobe, but she was like, there's too many things everywhere. It's too complicated. She doesn't even need a complicated program like that. She's really great with that as well.

[36:02] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: With the veterans getting out of the military, you know, they know 48 different software systems just like I did.

[36:07] CLAIRE: Yes.

[36:07] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: And a lot of times I just have to educate the employers as to the level of skills that veterans have. And that's, you know, once they. Once I have a meeting, it brings a whole new light to hiring veterans. Like, yes, we want that person. Not only do they have the leadership and the experience with worldwide populations, but they also have all the information technology skills, and they're an asset to every, every company that has hired one of our veterans comes back and says, can you give me another one? Can I have another veteran? So that's something that I take great pride in, and I'm honored to be able to continue to serve my fellow veterans, corny as that is.

[36:52] CLAIRE: That's so important because, I mean, you know better than anyone how hard it is to get a job. You know, especially people who are in, you know, combat or anything. You know, they're just expected to go right back in normal society. And that is a crazy expectation. And so I'm really glad that they have someone like you to help them through that. And you're also helping some of the homelessness problems that we're having in Springfield as well, you know?

[37:16] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Definitely.

[37:16] CLAIRE: Yeah. So is there any. Do you have any hopes for my future as far as your influences or Emma, my sister's future?

[37:28] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Yeah. I just hope that you'll stick to what you're doing. You work so hard working full time at Ulta as you do and doing all that college work. And Emma, too, she's working so hard. I just hope you stick to your guns and, you know, get it where you're going and make your career choices first, and then when you're ready to settle down or not, I want you to have the freedom to do that. And I'm just so proud of you. For all you do, you're going to be a media production guru. I'm surprised that you're probably going to end up being marketing or doing that for people well above my expectations. Cause you're a determined young lady, and I'm so proud of you.

[38:15] CLAIRE: Thank you. Well, you know, I'm only that way because of you. Right now.

[38:18] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: You're gonna get me all verklempt.

[38:21] CLAIRE: All verklempt, as Mike Myers says on SNL. But, yeah, everything that I'm able to do is because of my mother, like, everything who I am. So I'm just so grateful for her and everything that she was able to support me and provide for me and just she really gave my sister and I like the best life that she could and she'll continue to do that. I mean, I feel like I'll be 50 and I'll be like, mom, can you help me with these taxes? She'll help me, you know, so I know she's always gonna be with me.

[38:56] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: So close.

[38:57] CLAIRE: Yes. I'm very grateful for our relationship. I know a lot of people that aren't close with their mother and so I'm really grateful that were able to have that and I know that she'll continue to support me and I hope that I can be there to support her in the same way that she's always supported me. So. Yeah.

[39:13] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Thank you. Claire.

[39:15] CLAIRE: Any closing thoughts?

[39:17] SABRINA SAGEHORN BONNETTE: Act as if you do. Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. That's a quote. Not for me. It's.