Video: 2024 TAPS Military Mentor of the Year Award Recipient

Each year at the TAPS Honor Guard Gala, TAPS presents the Military Mentor of the Year Award to an outstanding Military Mentor committed to bringing comfort and companionship to children and teens grieving the death of a loved one who served in the U.S. military along with more than 700 TAPS Military Mentors.

This year's award was presented to Sergeant First Class Nicole McMinamin, U.S. Army. 

SFC McMinamin joined TAPS as a Military Mentor in 2015 after losing four friends to suicide. Her dedication to the TAPS Family is a bright spot in the lives of young children who are processing not only the loss of a loved one, but often the loss of connection to the military community. McMinamin is a positive influence and a lasting connection to the military these surviving children's loved ones proudly served.

“Our extraordinary Military Mentors represent a surviving child's link to their military-connected past and a future that is full of hope. The comfort Nicole brings to the surviving children she has mentored over the years is a gift they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.” - Bonnie Carroll, TAPS President and Founder

Select image below to play. See also: Press Release