Army spouse and mother of three, Randa Bronson, is a self-described "average, everyday person," and by all accounts you could take her word for it.

On the surface, she is a typical military spouse -- raising her kids, maintaining a career and buttressing a family while her husband finishes up his third deployment.

But, according to Time magazine, she's far from typical. The 31-year-old, Macon, Ga., resident was in the running to be one of the magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009.

Bronson received the nod for her political activism during the 2008 presidential election, and was responsible for registering thousands of voters in the state of Georgia, according to Time.

If you ask Bronson about the mention, she'll tell you that she's still in a state of disbelief. "Wow! I'm still in shock," Bronson says through a laugh, in an April 21 interview with Military.com.

This honor puts her in the company of heads of state, Academy Award-winning actors, Nobel-prize winning scientists, political activists, generals, and war heroes. She narrowly missed the cut to be one of the final nominees -- she was beat out by U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu -- but she's still elated to be nominated.

Time's list of the 100 Most Influential People is compiled by the publication asking past nominees for their picks for the following year's list. And past nominee and Democratic National Commitee Chairman Howard Dean was so impressed with Bronson's efforts during the 2008 election that he submitted her name for the 2009 list. Then, Time asks its readers to help whittle down the list by voting for the top 100 nominees.

Bronson humbly adds that she was one of many people that became politically active in this past election and "I'm just one person who got out there and knocked on doors, and gave people a voice."

However, Bronson wasn't always this passionate about politics. Prior to last year's campaign, she was not politically active, nor did she care much about the political process. She never thought that she could make a difference in the country's direction and therefore never bothered to get involved. But, the economy took a turn for the worse and Bronson's husband, Michael -- a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army -- was deployed to Iraq for the third time, leaving her to care for their three children alone

Feeling frustrated by his third deployment, and wanting her husband to return home safely, she wanted a change in the way the country was headed but didn't know where to start. It wasn't until a friend talked her into going to a house party in June 28, 2008 for then-Senator Barack Obama's campaign, that her fervor for politics was ignited. "When I listened to the people there and how inspired they were by Barack, I left there with a lot of inspiration of my own," according to her statement on her community blog page.

"I did as much research as I could, read one of his two books, and volunteered to do voter registration on July 4 in downtown Macon," she adds.

During that July 4 registration, Bronson picked out her corner of a downtown Macon intersection and stood there until the evening hours attempting to register voters. She only registered two voters that time, but that didn't stop her from becoming more involved in the campaign.

"Something about giving those two people the power and the ability to make a difference was thrilling," Bronson says in an Atlanta-Journal Constitution article.

After she registered those two voters she was hoooked on "making a difference," and she went to the campaign office everyday to volunteer or register new voters. Her new found political activism led her to register thousands of voters in the months leading up to the election. What's more, she didn't let the time constraints of being a full-time stay-at-home mother hinder her from helping with the campaign. She often brought her children with her to voter registration drives and got them involved as well.

Her zeal for the campaign garnered her praise from the Democratic Party and she was mentioned by Howard Dean in his speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

After Obama won the presidency, Bronson returned to her life as a working mom, but she still maintains her passion for politics. When asked if she has any role in helping the new administration connect with military families, she answered with an emphatic, "Definitely!"

"I'm a member of Blue Star Families [an organization designed to offer input about the military community to policy makers] and I'm also part of a small group of people who want to keep the momentum going after the election," she adds.

Her husband's return and their impending move to Ft. Campbell is her top priority, and she has no plans to pursue a political career, leaving it to young people. "It's for 20 year olds, and I'm not 20. It was fast-paced and a lot of late nights," she says.

However, she's not willing to completely rule out running for city council or for a seat on the local school board one day.

Bronson adds, "I learned that change is always possible as long as you put your mind and energy into it. Our president wants us to be involved, wants us out volunteering, and wants us to help one another and in turn help our country. It's just a matter of joining together and doing it."

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