PACKOUT '08 IS DONE!!!

March 8, 2008 --  Another year of work is done!  All in all, five years.  Over 25,000 shirts off the backs of hometown heroes across North America sent to our deployed troops around the globe.

I've spent the last couple days ... Between naps and exhaustion ... Editing photos that were downloaded at the PackOut.  Ya know, there were a lot of cameras out there!  And some very talented photogs were using them. 

This post will likely be broken into several entries.  This first post will show you photos from the set up on Friday March 7th.

Included will be pictures of the opening ceremonies,  & presentations on March 8th, at the PackOut.  It might be best to break these up so you have an easier time finding the photos you're wanting.

Heeeere we go ...

The PackOut plans begin shortly after the annual tour, but little is done beyond the talking stage.  We all have big ideas, and grand prizes in mind.   Then the real world creeps back in and this small band of volunteers gets overwhelmed trying to get everything done.  Inevitably we come to the understanding that we will do all we can to make it rock, and then agree that whatever happens -- good or bad -- we planned it that way.

 

To the sound of bagpipes courtesy of Tacoma Fire Department Pipers, we opened PackOut '08 with a great Hero Color Guard, which for the first time, included a Canadian representative.  (Thank you Denis Letellier for getting that arranged for us.)  Cpt Bruce Derbyshire was the perfect representative for Canada.  He looked sharp, and had a ready smile for all who approached him.

 

Tacoma Fire Department Honor Guard Commander & HeroToHero.US Ambassador, Karen Leming was acting commander of our Color guard, and deserves a lot of credit for all she has done to make all of the Hero Color Guards special ... But this one rocked!

 

This Color Guard was about as good as it gets.  These folks had so little practice ahead of time, that it spoke to their separate skills that they were able to pull this off so well.  Seeing the combined uniforms of firefighters, police, and various branches of the military, was inspiring.  As the color guard posted their colors and stood facing the crowd, the angelic voice of soloist Elaine Patterson rose above all of us.  She not only sang our National Anthem, but honoring our Canadian partners, she learned O' Canada.  And she did it so well that we have received several calls asking about her availability for others.  It was a perfect blend!

 

As the Color Guard left the floor, the 2 Washington State Patrol remained behind, and did a rifle drill demo for us all.  All eyes were on them, what a great start.  By the way, the WSP is the Best Dressed in the Country!  Making us proud!

 

And then it all began.

 

We introduced the Core Team, Chani & Larry Kaibetoney, Leta Kaibetony, Matt & Nikki Estabrook.  And the rest of our teams, including: Shannon Spencer, Tara Buel, Juli Nowak, Mansoo Masga, Karen Leming, JJ Stewart, Aaron Leming, & Kelly Averbeck.

 

Even past member Kathy Green came up from California for our final PackOut.

 

But we had special guests this time.  We had our Canadian Ambassador,  Sarnia, Ontario firefighter, Kevin McHarg & his fantastic wife, Sue, join us for the first time.  They were a perfect addition to the crews, and made the entire event all the better.  We shared so much laughter with them during their visit, and got to share the reasons we love Washington.  For the record, the first part of their visit, there was no rain!  We're giving them credit for the great weather we had for the PackOut -- Of course back home for them, it was snowing!  ( ;

 

We presented Kevin his team bag, made by Jensen Lee.  We filled it with items that represented for the Puget Sound and Fort Lewis & McChord AFB.  Of course we added some Space Noodles, Slug Butter, and other goodies for them to share.  The bag turned out perfectly, as always.  (And soon, you will be able to get your our official HeroToHero.US Team Bag online!)  HUGE kudos to Jim Officer and the folks at Jensen Lee Bags.

 

There were presentations and honors throughout the day.  So many people to say thank you to, for all of their support.

 

But first we had two coins to release ... The Matthew Luke coin & the Shane Wyrsch coin.

 

LCpl Matthew Luke is the first wounded Marine honored by HeroToHero.US  And it was an honor to have him, his brother, Devin, and all of their family join us.  The Luke coin was nominated by the Tillamook Fire Department to honor their own.  We surprised them by adding Devin to the coin.  Devin is also a USMC LCpl, who was deployed with Matt when he was injured.  What a gracious family.  We want to thank them for being there, it certainly made an impact when the coin was unveiled.

 

Immediately following, we honored Fallen Forestry Officer Shane Wyrsch, who was killed a year ago, by a drunk driver.  Shane's widow, Zoe, was with us, and brought their two handsome young sons for the unveiling of the coin.  Shane's coin was nominated by Lloyd Stading, who worked diligently with us to make sure this one was just right.  There is no doubt how much Shane was (and is) loved and respected.  We were proud to have done this for the Wyrsch family.

 

Another very special guest was there to represent veterans past.  World War II, P-51 fighter pilot, retired Colonel Ted Bullock graciously accepted our invitation to call for the Moment of Silence, and share some of his great memories with the young troops.  He is an amazing man, and is married to the very lovely Evelyn.  We were honored to have them both with us for the final PackOut.  Thank you for adding such a special aspect to our event!

 

During the Moment of Silence, the military members of the Hero Color Guard reformed to do the folding of the American flag.  There was not a sound, and all eyes were on the four person crew who did this ceremony to perfection.

 

But there were some watery eyes when the folded flag was then brought on to the stage and presented to our favorite Chaplain, Tacoma Fire Department's Wilby Casey.  His eyes widened, and the look of shock on his face said it all.  This man who has stood with and for us, over the past five years, never expected any honor.  Andyet, when the question arose as to whom the flag should be presented, the response was unanimous -- it had to be Wilby!

 

Now while all of the was flowing smoothly, shirts were being signed all around the armory.  It was a busy event, and there were 5,000 shirts that had to get signed, processed, and packed.

 

So, have we convinced you that it was all going without a hitch?  Hehe.  Not so quick.  If you've ever done an event with us, you know that we have a traditional saying ... "Whatever happens.  We planned it that way"  Doesn't matter is a meteor hits the building -- we planned it.  So when our very special guest ran into some road blocks ... Well, ummm.  You know let's make that our next post.  You don't meet Mama Rose in just a paragraph!

 

Stay tuned ...

REMEMBER to ENLARGE before cutting and pasting.  Just click on the "View Larger" button above the photos if you are searching for photos you want.  OR ... If you find a specific photo, double-click it and it will enlarge.  Then cut & paste.

These photos were taken by various people at the PackOut, to include Andrew Mitchell, Tara & Dustin Buel, Larry Kaibetoney, Brad Jackson, Suzanne Allen, Kathy Green, Teresa Moffett, and more.  We thank them all for documenting the best ever PackOut!

Enjoy the pix ...

lj

Congratulations, Team Canada!

February 29, 2008 -- The 2nd Annual Canadian PackOut, in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Last year 200 shirts, this year, inching in on 1,300 shirts!  Well done!

Kevin McHarg, our Canadian Ambassador, will be doing a writeup for the Journal to go with all of his great photos.

All we know is that it was a rousing success, and the Canadian troops have some great shirts headed their way!  Kevin's gonna have to fill in the blanks. 

But, he may be delayed a lil bit in that posting.  He and Sue are readying to head out here for our 5th & final stateside PackOut (More on that will post in a week or two).  We are gonna send them home tired, but happy

Enjoy their photos, we are.  And as soon as I get Kevin's story, it will be posted.  This will also be highlighted in the Spotlight page on our site.

**Kevin, be sure to ask me why a certain couple photos aren't posted.  Interesting.

lj

The deadline is coming! The deadline is coming!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and that means the deadline to get the Hero shirts to us if you will not be attending the 5th Annual PackOut.

We NEED everyone who has been visited by HeroToHero.US to step up, or we will not get all of the 6,000 shirts we need, on time.

Let's be real,  If you haven't gotten them out by now, they will likely ot be here in time,  so the back up is to get them going as soon as you can.  We MUST have them in our physical possession BY March 7th, as the PackOut is the very next day.  No excuses!

Shipping address to get them here is ... Good for USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and all the rest.

HeroToHero.US

Attn: Liz Jackson

5700 100th Ave SW #224

Lakewood, WA 98499

We are trying to post on the main site's Message Board when boxes arrive.  We just received boxes from Chicago Ridge, IL ... Twin Falls, ID ... Sioux Falls, SD ... Napierville, IL ... a big ol box of nice shirts from Jay Bishop's efforts at the Illinois Honor Guard Convention (NIIII-IIIICE!!!)  And, our hometown NASCAR Hero, Kasey Kahne (GO #9!), and his fabulous mom, Tammy, made sure that we have a couple cases of Kasey shirts going out to the troops.

Want to know more about the PackOut ... visit our site at www.HeroToHero.US

Back to work for us.  We have troops to take care of!

**On a personal note:  Thank you soooo much to all of you for the positive thoughts and messages.  I don't call you Heroes for nothing!  lj

Northwest Afternoon

January 9, 2008 -- Today was a great chance for us to see what kind of response we will get from the local heroes.  And if this was a true indication ... This is going to be a great year for troop morale in the Pacific Northwest!

We got a call from KOMO 4's Northwest Afternoon, asking if we'd like to do another promo this year for the upcoming PackOut.  We did this 2 years ago, and it was fun, so why not?!

All we needed was to guarantee 15 audience members, and we would get a free public service announcement on our local ABC affiliate.  Can't beat that deal.  But how to choose just 15 of our heroes.  No way!  We ended up with double that.  We all convoyed and carpooled up, and started our day in the KOMO studios with Nemesia, Kent, Natasha, & the rest of their crew.

Our team consisted of members of the Warrior Transition Battalion from Fort Lewis, our USAF Liaison, Bates Tech Fire Services Trainees, (with instructor Pat Piper) Karen Leming & Chris Galbraith from the Tacoma Fire Department Honor Guard, and our new friends from the Washington State Patrol PIO Trooper Brandy Kessler & Trooper Christian Wilson.  All told there were about 30 of us.   It was a perfect team, and we truly appreciate all of the support!  Thank you all so much!

A fun moment was when the very lovely Natasha Curry made her entrance into the studio and got her first glimpse of our half of the audience.  She smiled broadly, and exclaimed "Oh, uniforms!"  She then told us that she was herself married to a firefighter -- Which required that we send her home to ask her husband for the shirts from their department!  Come on, we all have our missions.  ( ;

And Kent, (Of Kent & Alan fame) was a crack up just like last time.  I remembering laughing pretty hard last time around.  Watching him try to get Natasha to duplicate the ice skating lift with Natasha had the potential for UTube posts!

If you are a local group with an upcoming event, and need to get the word out about an upcoming event, give them a call at KOMO, and ask about the NWA PSA.  They'll take great care of you!

Thank you to all of our participating heroes, and to KOMO's Northwest Afternoon!  You are all tops in our book!

Now mark your calendars ... We need your shirts by Valentine's Day, and the PackOut is March 8th.

If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to drop us a line at HeroShirts@aol.com

lj

Tags: HEROTOHERO.US, TACOMA FIRE, WASHINGTON STATE PATROL, BATES TECH FIRE SERVICES, KOMO 4 NORTHWEST AFTERNOON, WARRIOR TRANSITION BATTALION, FORT LEWIS, USAF

Big man ... Bigger heart

Ladies and gents,

I would like to share a special story with you.  It is brief, but it is shared with much respect.

A while back Kevin McHarg, our Canadian Ambassador for HeroToHero.US, advised me that he was going to be presenting our program to firefighters in Newbury, Ontario, Canada.

Now Kevin does numerous presentations on our behalf, but this was the first time that he called on the way home to tell me about a specific person.  Kevin met Bubba!

It was great to listen to him go on about this larger than life guy, that he had just met.

He said this guy was the real deal, that without hesitation Bubba had run out to his car to make sure he had a shirt to replace the one he was about to give off his back.  I think if Kevin could have cloned Bubba, there'd be big warm smiles all over Canada, getting all the shirts he could.

Kevin talked about how outgoing, warm, and sincere this guy was, and told me I absolutely had to meet him when we come back to Canada on the next tour, and I looked forward to it!

Sadly, I will never meet Bubba.  Our new friend was involved in a fatal car accident.

Kevin's voice choked when he next called to tell the news of the loss of one of our firefighter heroes.  This connection was instant and personal, and the loss hit hard.  And this was to someone who had only met him once.  There was no question that his department must be heartbroken.

We all bow our heads and say a prayer for Bubba, and those who knew and loved him.  His shirt will be sent to a Canadian troop in the next PackOut.  Hopefully it will come back full circle, with the words of a deployed troop added to Bubba's.

The following is from Kevin, and Bubba's Chief in Newbury.

Liz,

On November 15th, 2007.  I attended a meeting of the Fire Chiefs from Middlesex County in Newbury Ontario.  I attended as the guest speaker on behalf of the HeroToHero.US  program.  The meeting was being hosted by the Newbury Fire Dept. at their local Legion.

I arrived a half hour early for the meeting to find members of the Newbury F.D. setting up the room for the meeting.  One of the firefighters I  was greeted by was a fellow named Lee (Bubba) Lawrence.

Before the meeting even began Bubba had his shirt off, signed and layed out on a table for others to sign.  He kept saying " I can't believe i've never heard about this program".  He thought it was awesome.

As Chiefs arrived he met them and told them about HeroToHero.US and he kept saying "I can't believe I haven't heard about this before!"  If he said it once he said it 10 times. I just laughed. He was making my job real easy and it's such a nice feeling when someone "GETS IT" the way Bubba did.

He was genuinely excited about participating in this program.

Bubba asked me if his shirt would fit a soldier. It was 3XL. My reply was that soldiers come in all sizes too. He signed it "Bubba Lee ... one of the big boys".

His message to the soldier receiving the shirt is "You're doing this for all of us. You're the real heroes".

Sadly, Lee (Bubba) Lawrence was tragically killed in a car accident on December 2nd. 2007.  The Newbury Fire Dept. lost an invaluable member and HeroToHero.US lost a friend.

My sincere condolences go out to Lee's family, friends and members of the Newbury Fire Dept.  Although I only met Lee for a few hours, I will never forget the big man with the big heart.

The man who looked like he could snap you in half if he wanted to but had a tattoo of his mom on one forearm and his dad on the other.

Kevin

***

Hello Kevin

I thought I would send the Eulogy that I read at Bubba Lee’s Funeral Service.

We are here today to celebrate the life of Bubbalee Lawrence.  First I want to wish the family all the strength to stick together

Through this difficult time, Bubbalee … such a short time he had with us, yet I have enough memories to last a lifetime.

He was the nicest man you’d ever want to know. He’d do anything for any one… at anytime!

A few weeks back he literally gave the shirt off his back for a charity called HeroToHero.US  This is just one small example of the kind of man Lee was.

I’m definitely going to miss coming home and seeing Bubba sitting at my kitchen table , where he often was.  For a while, he’d come over on Wednesday nights to watch America’s Next Top Model with my wife Debbie and my stepdaughter Alisha.

Bubba called it " Girls Night " He loved coming over and hanging out with Jason, just to relax, play X-Box and have a few beers. Lee very much cared about his friends and the relationships he had with those his loved.

Another love of Bubba’s was the Fire Department. Bubba joined the Newbury on April 23 2005. At that time I didn’t know him but he marched right in with a big smile, and a million questions about the department and was eager to learn . In fact Lee never missed a meeting in his entire department career. Our department holds a breakfast once a month . Lee’s first breakfast he was named the "Toast Wench".

That’s what all the firemen have to do at their first breakfast. Luckily, with all Bubba’s charm he quickly conned Lindsey Degraw into doing the toast -- and also because she was the next one to join the department.  

Lee always pushed the other Members into getting involved and was always bugging me to get more stuff! His most recent desire was getting more Members to get there DZ license . He went door to door getting members to sign up. We sure will miss his positive attitude, dedication and his big smiling face around the department.

Lee’s motto was to make the best of everyday, and to accept the things you can’t change and that’s what he always did.

Always a smiling face willing to lend a helping hand and always around when you needed someone the most.

I’m sure each and every one of you will remember Lee for your own reasons, experiences and memories. But if there is one thing each of us can agree on, it’s the fact that Lee was a rare man in this day and age .The most selfless, loving guy and the best friend anyone could ever ask for … With a lot of tattoos!

So if I could say one last thing to Lee Lawrence . I would like to thank him for leaving me with many great memories, sometimes teaching me a thing or two and for setting the example that it’s okay to be who you are and wear it proudly!

Because that’s what he always did !  We’ll miss you big guy!

Fire Chief

Newbury Ontario.

God bless you Bubba.  Watch over those who miss you most.  We need more with your heart!

lj

 

Tags: Bubba Lee Lawrence, Firefighter, Newbury Ontario

Merry Christmas from HeroToHero.US

DISCLAIMER:  Please be warned that this message contains a greeting of warm wishes for you and your loved ones.  Know that it is wished that you have a beautiful, happy, fun, safe day on December 25th.  Be advised that there is no political message inferred, and no specific religious agenda attached. 

Be aware that you may also receive such a greeting for New Year's, Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, Halloween, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and any other days that are a day of celebration in my life.  I am not telling you that you must celebrate my day, only that this is the day that makes me happy, and I hope you are happy too. 

Were I of another belief, I might wish you a Happy Hanukkah, a wonderful Kwanzaa, or any other myriad of special days, and I would hope you'd be especially happy on that day.  But I am not, and so, with no ulterior motive, if I may;

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

lj

WELCOME HOME, 63RD ORDNANCE!

It was a verrrrry early morning that found us inside the gym on North Fort, and very honestly, it is hard getting up like that.

A lot of us in attendance just stayed up so as not to sleep.  So close to the holidays, you might think this was another Christmas sale, or the jolly fat elf himself, but no, this was better!

... Our own Wolfpack, the 63rd Ord, of Fort Lewis came home!

Firefighters sat together in one corner of the room, but shook hands and gave out random hugs.  Kids rubbed the sleep from their eyes, some napped, wives chatted anxiously, and the band played on.  Whether it was a book, a cell phone, or a friend, everyone found a way to get through the anxious period 'til the Wolfpack made their appearance.

Families came in from all over the country for this reunion.  And every time the band started a charged tune, all eyes came to one direction, hoping.

Finally, at almost 6 am, the curtain came up, the crowd jumped to their feet with applause and screams.  The 63rd OD was home!

I had hoped to get a reunion shot of the lone Marine standing with a bouquet of red roses for his returning wife, but in the midst of so many hugs, smiles, and tears, lost sight of them.  I'm pretty sure they made it just fine!  ( ;

Welcome home all of you!  We missed you ... You made all of us proud!

Be sure to mark your calendars, we are honoring this unit at the PackOut, on March 8th!

lj