Kili Class
2025 Conquering Kili Class
Role
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Location
Lindon, UT
Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Wayne Ormond is a third generation Veteran who served 27 years in the Air Force, before retiring in 2019. Wayne enlisted when he was 17 years old and still a senior in high school, then shipped off to basic training three days after his graduation. He started his military career as an aircraft mechanic and served overseas in the ’90s supporting air missions for Operation Deliberate Guard, the no-fly-zone in Iraq after Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia and Operation Allied Force in Kosovo. His next career move took him to recruiting where he spent the next 15 years recruiting some of the best and brightest enlisted and officer candidates into the Air Force.
Wayne’s final military career move took him into joint Army/Air Force Operations where he had an opportunity to spend time in Northern Africa, supporting partner forces training and humanitarian assistance as part of Operation African Lion. It was during this time that he witnessed first-hand the desperate need, in so many African communities, for easy access to sustainable, clean water.
In his personal life, Wayne has been married to his high school sweetheart Michelle for 29 years. Michelle has spent a lifetime of service as a high school public educator, a military spouse and a mother to their four amazing children: three sons (Brock, Carson and Aidan) and one daughter (Olivia)…and their first grandson that is on-the-way in Dec 2024. Wayne and his family love being outdoors and spend their time hiking, backpacking, fishing, hunting, camping, snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding and anything else that gets them outside the house.
Wayne and Michelle have always believed in the value of doing hard things, voluntarism and a love of the outdoors. Wayne hopes that Conquering Kili with the Waterboys team will be a further testament of these beliefs and is excited to help in the fight for clean, sustainable drinking water in Eastern Africa.
Each new Conquering Kili class accepts the challenge to embark for the summit, a walk that represents the miles that many African women journey on a daily basis to fetch water for their families. While training for the climb, each team member works to raise funds and transform communities through the gift of clean water.