Jennifer Conner and Marcie Klatik arrived at the hotel, drawn by an invitation sent by email.

They sat next to each other in a ballroom at Tacoma’s Hotel Murano. Between sessions of the SpouseBUZZ Live conference, they discovered they have a lot in common.

Each has a husband stationed at Fort Lewis. Each is in her early 30s. Each has a special-needs child.

They shared tips on resources available to military families.

“It’s good to know that you’re not alone out there,” said Conner, a 34-year-old from Lacey. “It can be kinda hard sometimes.”

“It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who has some of these feelings about military life,” said Klatik, a 31-year-old Lakewood resident.

That was the idea behind the conference.

“We’re here to get people talking to each other,” said Jeanie St. Martin, one of the event’s organizers.

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Talk about a homecoming.

Less than two weeks after returning from a four-month deployment with McChord Air Force Base’s 4th Airlift Squadron, Capt. Richard Kind will participate in the coin toss for the Seattle Seahawks’ game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Qwest Field.

Kind, a C-17 Globemaster pilot, is part of a group of veterans who will be honored as part of the Hawks’ Military Appreciation Day. He’ll join representatives from other branches of the military as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

Two Medal of Honor recipients, Air Force Col. Joe Jackson and Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, will also participate.

Kind and other members of the 4th AS returned home Nov. 5. The airmen were stationed in Turkey and Kuwait. They were responsible for planning and flying all C-17 missions throughout U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, which includes Iraq and Afghanistan. Kind, who has been on four deployments, has almost 3,000 flying hours, including 800 hours of combat flying.

(I’m sure the other service members are from Western Washington military installations, but I haven’t heard either way. I’ll update this when I find out.)

Make sure you check out my colleague Steve Maynard's report on U.S. Sen. Patty Murray discussing the nation's need to take care of its armed forces. She was speaking at a summit for families and children.