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Our Message to the Military.... "America Supports You"

November 13, 2007

E-Newsletter Volume CXXXVI

Washington, D.C.

Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Dale Beatty completes the Marine Corps Marathon. USAA, a Marine Corps Marathon sponsor, supported Beatty on behalf of ASY homefront group Wounded Warrior Project. Beatty is a veteran of the Iraq War and a double amputee.

New Bern, N.C.

SGT Eric Edmundson and wife Stephanie enjoy the first moments in their new home built for them by ASY homefront group Homes for Our Troops. Donna and Bill Russell of Kit Corp, lead contractor on the project and John Gonsalves, president and founder of Homes for Our Troops celebrate with the couple.

Washington, D.C.

Recipients of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve’s 2007 Secretary of Defense Freedom Award meet with President George W. Bush during their Washington trip to receive their awards at a special Ronald Reagan Building awards ceremony.
ASY from Coast to Coast and Across the Ocean
USAA, a financial services company serving the military and their families, was a sponsor of the 32nd annual Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th in Washington, D.C. Helping to spread the ASY message, the company has been serving the military for 85 years and has a history of helping those wounded in action. USAA supported an Army National Guardsman blinded in Iraq who was running in the marathon. Additionally, through its relationship with ASY homefront group Wounded Warrior Project which provides aid to war wounded veterans, USAA supported three wheelchair race participants. USAA distributed finishers coins to those who completed the race and provided a pavilion where runners and supporters could check their race times and await the finishers.
Homes for Our Troops, an America Supports You homefront group committed to building specially adapted homes for our severely wounded servicemembers, recently held a key presentation ceremony for North Carolina recipient Sergeant Eric Edmundson, a member of the 172nd Stryker Brigade, 4th Squadron,14th Calvary, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. While in Iraq, the Stryker vehicle Sergeant Edmundson was driving hit an improvised explosive device, and he sustained serious injuries. To accommodate his needs, Homes for Our Troops, with the support of the surrounding community, built Eric a new home. “The support of this community truly is to be commended. We budgeted $250,000 for this project and got all but $5,000 donated,” said John Gonsalves, founder of Homes for Our Troops. Kit Corp Homes Presidents Bill & Donna Russell, who acted as lead contractors on the project, joined the Edmundson family in celebrating the completion of the home. Bill and Donna were recognized by Governor Mike Easley for their commitment to the project and the welfare of veterans.

The Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve agency is spreading the ASY servicemember support spirit, having opened the nomination season for the 2008 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award on November 1. ESGR’s mission is to gain and maintain employer support for Guard and Reserve service by recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of the law, and resolving conflicts through informal mediation. National Guard and Reserve members and their families are eligible and encouraged to nominate employers who have gone above and beyond in their support of military employees. Nominations will be accepted at www.esgr.mil from November 1, 2007 to January 21, 2008. The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the U.S. government’s highest recognition given to outstanding employers. The 2008 recipients will be announced in the spring and honored in Washington, D.C. at the 13th annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award ceremony on September 18th. Recipients of the 2007 Freedom Award met with President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Vice Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright presented the awards at a ceremony attended by members of Congress and senior government and military officials.

The ASY Giving Thanks initiative begins at 6 a.m. EST on Saturday, November 17, and continues through midnight on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 22. Participants will send a text message by dialing 8-9-2-7-9. In return, they will receive a reply from an active-duty military member and directions to the ASY Web site.

Organizations nationwide are making plans to help show support for the troops through their participation in the America Supports You Giving Thanks text messaging initiative. By simply dialing 8-9-2-7-9, participants will send a text message of support for our servicemembers. The initiative will begin at 6 a.m. EST on Saturday, November 17, and continue through midnight on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 22. ASY corporate supporters USAA and TriWest Healthcare Alliance are inviting their employees and members across the country to send text messages of thanks to our troops. ABC Radio Networks will be supporting the initiative as will Clear Channel’s WMZQ and DC 101 stations in Washington, D.C. College sports promotions continue throughout the week leading up to the Arizona State versus the University of Southern California game on Thanksgiving Day, where fans will be able to participate. The National Football League has provided Giving Thanks material to all of the teams hosting games the weekend before Thanksgiving. College football teams around the country are being invited to promote the program during their home games on Saturday, November 17. The San Diego Padres are promoting the program by filming a public service announcement with Cy Young Award candidate and All Star starting pitcher, Jake Peavy. Modell’s Sporting Goods is supporting the program by featuring program details in point-of-purchase flyers, as well as an email blast to more than 200,000 Modell’s Club members. As Thanksgiving draws closer, more and more America Supports You supporters are making plans to participate in the program.

Featured on the ASY Web Site Last Week:
Woodruff Family Fund
“The guys we saw at Bethesda (National Naval Medical Center, in Maryland) who were so badly injured, the first thing they would say to us is, ‘we want to go back to my unit.’…That just impressed us so much that we really fed off that, and I think that’s why we want to help these guys.”
- Dave Woodruff, Woodruff Family Fund
ASY In the News
Muncie Free Press (Delaware County, Ind.)highlightedTeam River Runner, a chapter of ASY homefront group Disabled Sports USA, which hosted seven injured veterans on an adaptive-sports adventure in the Virgin Islands. The Guard Experience reported on the efforts of three ASY homefront groups, The Yellow Ribbon Fund, the Armed Forces Foundation and Operation Homefront as well as defense contractor BAE in teaming up to bring children of servicemembers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center a new playground.
News-Leader.com (Springfield, Mo.)published Executive Vice President of The Military Family Network Megan Turak’s op-ed, which mentions the Giving Thanks text messaging initiative.
ASY Homefront Organization of the Week
America Supporting Americans (ASA) began with a simple request in 1967 from Founder Linda Patterson’s young brother Sergeant Joe Artavia, who was serving in the Vietnam War, asking her to raise the morale of his unit. Linda went into action, creating America Supporting Americans which facilitates the adoption of many units by towns and cities across the country. The organization’s work centers around its ‘Adopt-a-unit’ and “Foster-a-unit” programs that allow cities or groups to focus their support efforts on a particular unit. Through these adoptions, both soldiers and civilians discover the unique and crucial link that exists between the men and women of our Armed Services and the American citizens they are charged to protect. ASA uses its Youth Civic Action and Awareness Program as a tool to expand youth’s understanding of what it means to serve in the military. More than 35 universities, colleges, and high schools have joined in the ASA troop support campaign. Currently ASA is working to send hundreds of packages, Christmas trees and thousands of letters and cards to adopted units for the holidays. To learn more, visit www.asa-usa.org.

From the Troops:
“Thank you for all your support for the military. It is a big impact to the troops that Americans support them. Your words keep us going especially during the holidays.
-USAF SSgt RJ Griego, Kunsan AFB, Korea

“I would like to thank everyone back home who supports the military. I want to thank my family for supporting me all the way... Thank you America for you support.”
- PFC US Army, Will Aguirre, Denham Springs, La.

Our troops deserve to be applauded, and so do you!

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