If you, a loved one or friend suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), I do hope you will read on as this does deserve attention. I will be traveling to Chicago this week with a close friend and two time Iraq War Veteran who suffers from PTSD to try this procedure for the first time and take part in this study.

It is very new, it is no magic pill, it may not work on everyone, nor is it a cure for PTSD. However, it is relief from the symptoms of anxiety that come with PTSD and has now been successful eight of the eight times it has been tried. Should it be successful for my friend; this will be the best Christmas gift I could ever give him. I came across this merely by accident by doing research on PTSD.

I have spent much time talking with Dr. Little and Dr. Lipov who are nothing less than incredible people and the Soldier in the video who was the first Iraq War Veteran this was tried on, who is a very amazing person as well.

All new medicines and treatments start from somewhere. I am hoping this will be a breakthrough in some way in the treatment of PTSD not only for the many returning from the war who suffer, but others as well. As well, I hope that the doctors will some day get the funding they need to take this study into the VA system.

I do hope you will take the time to watch the video and vist the web site link below.
Please keep my friend in your prayers as we travel to Chicago.


http://stopptsdnow.com/index.html

Students offer greetings to troops serving overseas

BY WADE COGGESHALL
December 5, 2008

DANVILLE — U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvin Rahm knows the importance a soldier puts on letters from home.

An 18-year veteran of the Army, Rahm has served in Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Friday morning he visited the North and South elementary schools here to personally thank students who wrote letters and cards to troops serving abroad.

“What you’re doing with these letters is very important,” he told students assembled in the cafeteria at North Elementary. “To get letters from young people like yourself is nice.”

Rahm told the students that he has children who are a little older than them.

“When I’m gone, I love getting letters from them,” he said. “It makes me feel so much better, knowing that they remember me and care. I know they do, but sometimes you forget from what you’re doing in the (military). It’s a morale boost.”

Becky Porter, a Danville resident and booking agent who runs Elite Comedy Productions, organized the letter-writing initiative at the schools. She coordinated a similar project at Plainfield’s elementary schools last winter.

On Friday, she and Rahm collected more than 300 letters and cards from students at North Elementary, and hundreds more at South.

“You have no idea what this means to all the (troops) stationed overseas,” Porter told the North students. “You did an awesome job.”

Students in grades first through third participated in the letter-writing campaign. Kathryn Raasch, principal at North Elementary, said her school has participated in projects like this before, but not on this scale. Nor have they ever had a member of the military come to personally thank them.

“For these little guys to know (what affect it has), they almost have to have the visual,” Raasch said.

The students seemed in awe of Rahm, who was in uniform. They asked him questions like why he joined the Army, what it’s like, and what kind of food he eats (they got really excited when they learned candy is included).

“That’s what it’s all about,” Raasch said of the interaction.

Many of these students have family members and relatives who’ve served overseas.

“It’s hit us, but it’s hit everybody by now,” Raasch said.

Their correspondence included standard letters and cutouts of troops wearing a variety of uniforms. One was even portrayed as a ninja. Porter said the letters will go to military personnel stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.

Landon Keller, a Danville native and musician now living in Chicago, donated copies of his debut CD to be sent with the letters.

“I love to be a part of anything positive,” said Keller, who has performed at local benefits including Jam for Jackie. “I jump at any chance to do that.”

Porter, who has organized numerous military benefits, met Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Camarena through the Any Soldier website. Some of the letters will go to his unit in Iraq. Porter hopes to get photos from him of soldiers receiving the letters to show the students.

“I just thought this would be a good way to show our military they’re appreciated,” she said. “Especially around the holidays, it’s nice to hear from people back home.”

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com

Soldier thanks students for letter-writing initiative

By Wade Coggeshall
Hendricks County Flyer
Avon, IN
Published March 14, 2008

PLAINFIELD — U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvin Rahm knows the importance of correspondence and care packages to soldiers serving overseas.

"It’s an immense morale booster, to know that more than just your family is thinking about you," said the Army recruiter, now based out of Avon’s Harlan Center.

Before joining the Army, the farthest Rahm had ventured outside his native Covington was Indiana’s surrounding states. During his 18-year Army career, he’s done tours in Iraq, Kuwait, Kosovo, and Korea, among other locales.

"I spent 18 years trying to get out of Indiana and 17 years trying to get back," Rahm said.

Letters from home were crucial during those trips abroad, he said. Danville’s Becky Porter, a booking agent who runs Elite Comedy Productions, is doing her part to make sure soldiers get them.

Porter started booking comedy shows where she collected toiletries, snacks, and other items to send to troops overseas. In November she met with Megan Wiseman of the Ambassadors Group at Plainfield High School about getting the schools involved in a writing campaign. They in turn met with elementary students in the school corporation, who wrote letters and made Christmas cards that were combined with non-perishable items and mailed to troops.

"The response we got was amazing," Porter said of the project. About 400 packages were sent, which included Beanie Babies to be given to Iraqi children.

On Friday Rahm and Porter visited classes in the elementary schools to say thanks. CVS donated more than 2,000 cookies in packs small enough to fit in an envelope for a new round of letters to the military.

"These students have jumped at the chance to do something for others," said Krissy Robbins about her first-grade class at Brentwood Elementary School. "They wrote letters for nursing home residents too."

Rahm answered students’ questions on Friday. In Robbins’ class, pupils asked about everything from gear and weaponry to the food ("It’s gotten a lot better in the last five or six years," Rahm told them). Rahm said he looked forward to Friday’s classroom circuit because "children ask good questions and say what they mean." One of the more direct ones Rahm got in Robbins’ class was "why do you fight?" His response was equally frank: "To uphold freedoms for American citizens."

wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvin Rahm visits with first-graders Friday at Brentwood Elementary School. The children had written letters and made Christmas cards to send to troops serving overseas. Wade Coggeshall/Flyer photos.

Online:

www.elitecomedy.com

www.myspace.com/standupforourtroops

Below is a partial list of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines & Airmen deployed overseas that care packages of non-perishable goods produced from Elite Comedy / Standup Comedy Benefit Shows that were sent to during the year 2007. That's over 2,932 deployed troops that were assisted! Thank You Troop Supporters!!

SPC Donya Ellis
Afghanistan – 17 Soldiers

SPC Matthew Rhodes
Iraq – 10 Soldiers

SSgt Paul Debord
Iraq – 50 Marines

HM1 Gregory Henry
Iraq – 50 Sailors

SFC Patrick Greenwood
Iraq – 130 Soldiers

MAJ Stephanie Gradford
Iraq – 5 Soldiers

LCpl Devon Peet
Iraq – 5 Marines

PFC Amy McLeod
Iraq – 13 Soldiers

CAPT John Reynolds
Iraq – 185 Marines

SGT Tracey Moore
Iraq – 35 Soldiers

PFC Anthony Magee
Afghanistan – 8 Soldiers

1T2 Christopher Strysick
Afghanistan – 160 Sailors

Arnell Kroll
Afghanistan – 206 Soldiers

SFC Catherine Pearson
Iraq – 160 Soldiers

Teslyn Savage
Iraq – 62 Soldiers

CPT Brian Oh
Afghanistan – 310 Soldiers

SSG Sherwin Baxter
Iraq – 50 Soldiers

SGM Benjamin Jones
Iraq 224 Soldiers

SPC Consuelo Johnson
Iraq – 45 Soldiers

RP1 Micheale Perry
Iraq – 167 Sailors

SFC Derrick Burdick
Afghanistan – 9 Soldiers

SPC Joseph Hunter
Afghanistan – 7 Soldiers

MSgt PJ Ellison
Iraq – 125 Sailors


SSG Latisha Glanton
Iraq – 44 Soldiers

SSG Rick Buroker
Iraq – 51 Soldiers

1LT Erick Davis
Iraq – 200 Soldiers

SGT Nicholas Thompson
Iraq – 8 Soldiers

CPT Douglas Lecker
Iraq – 100 Soldiers

SFC Bradley Huppunen
Afghanistan – 15 Soldiers

SFC Michael Camarena
Kuwait – 14 Soldiers

MSGT Shawn Waldrep
Iraq – 77 Marines

CPT Keith GeRue
Iraq 320 Soldiers

SGT Shawn Smith
Iraq – 40 Soldiers

Mark Hamilton
Afghanistan – 30 Sailors

I have been asked many times over what it is I do and how I got started with this. Here is in brief my story.

In the spring of 2006 I came across the web site for the Any Soldier Organization (anysoldier.com). I was astonished to say the least at the amount of postings of our deployed service members some asking for a simple thing such as a letter or card of support from back home in the States, to things that they and their units either did not have or were unable to get like basic necessities such as toothpaste, soap and shampoo due to lack of PX or access to one, or no one back home to send them such things. I wanted to help and immediately started shopping and sending care packages on my own to those in need but quickly discovered that I wanted to help EVERYONE but would soon go broke in the process.

Then it hit me. Why not incorporate the standup comedy business (which I was already involved in) into this process. So I got this idea to book stateside benefit comedy shows for our troops and instead of selling tickets or charging a monetary admission, why not ask people to bring non-perishable donations such as toothpaste and shampoo to get into the shows and throw in a couple of bucks to help with postage? A crazy idea – a crazy dream of a supporter? Hmm, maybe. I then made some phone calls to a few trusted friends in the comedy business to share my new idea only to be told it WAS crazy and more than likely would not work. A silly idea; if even stupid. My thought – I am going to try it anyway. If I would be able to collect just enough things from one show to fill up one or two care packages and help out just a couple of deployed service members, it would be helping and be a success.

As it turned out, my plan worked, my dream worked. Several shows and just not quite two years later, I have been able to ship hundreds of care packages overseas just from non-perishable donations and revenue generated from these shows and I am absolutely astounded by it. People do come and they do donate, sometimes with boxes and bags full of stuff and they open up their pockets and donate money to help buy "whatever is needed."

Everyone who has been involved in this and opened their minds to it I would never be able to thank enough. The venues who host the shows give up their places for free, the comedians (sometimes traveling great distances) give up their time and work for free giving awesome performances. Hotels have pitched in and put the comedians up in free rooms for the night. I was even able to find a great graphic designer to design promotional posters for the shows and a local printer to print them for free. And many businesses have donated items for silent auction to raise money. All of this has been done in Support of Our Troops!

The rest is history really.

My crazy dream worked; My crazy dream lives on…. It helps me to see there is still good in this world.

God Bless Our Troops

TOP TEN COAST GUARD RESCUES

1. Hurricane Katrina - Search and rescue operations alone saved 24,135 lives from imminent danger, usually off the roofs of the victims' homes as flood waters lapped at their feet. Coast Guardsmen "evacuated to safety" 9,409 patients from local hospitals. In total, 33,545 souls were saved. Seventy-six Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft took part in the rescues. They flew 1,817 sorties with a total flight time of 4,291.3 hours in the air. The air crews saved 12,535. A total of 42 cutters and 131 small boats also participated, with their crews rescuing 21,200. Over 5,000 Coast Guardsmen served in Katrina operations.


2. Prinsendam Rescue - A fire broke out on the Dutch cruise vessel Prinsendam off Ketchikan, Alaska on 4 October 1980. The Prinsendam was 130 miles from the nearest airstrip. The cruise ship's captain ordered the ship abandoned and the passengers, many elderly, left the ship in the lifeboats. Coast Guard and Canadian helicopters and the cutters Boutwell, Mellon, and Woodrush responded in concert with other vessels in the area. The passenger vessel later capsized and sank. The rescue is particularly important because of the distance traveled by the rescuers, the coordination of independent organizations and the fact that all 520 passengers and crew and crew were rescued without loss of life or serious injury.


3. Pendleton Rescue - On 18 February 1952 during a severe "nor'easter" off the New England coast, the T-2 tankers SS Fort Mercer and SS Pendleton broke in half. BM1 Bernard C. Webber, coxswain of motor lifeboat CG-36500, from Station Chatham, Massachusetts, and his crew of three rescued the crew of the stricken tanker Pendleton, which had broken in half. Webber maneuvered the 36-footer under the Pendleton's stern with expert skill as the tanker's crew, trapped in the stern section, abandoned the remains of their ship on a Jacobs's ladder. One by one, the men jumped into the water and then were pulled into the lifeboat. Webber and his crew saved 33 of the 34 Pendleton crewmen. Webber and entire crew were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for their heroic actions. In all, U .S. Coast Guard vessels, aircraft, and lifeboat stations, working under severe winter conditions, rescued and removed 62 persons from the foundering ships or from the water with a loss of only five lives. Five Coast Guardsmen earned the Gold Lifesaving Medal, four earned the Silver Lifesaving Medal, and 15 earned the Coast Guard Commendation Medal. 


4. Dorchester Rescue - On 3 February 1943 the torpedoing of the transport Dorchester off the coast of Greenland saw cutters Comanche and Escanaba respond. The frigid water gave the survivors only minutes to live in the cold North Atlantic. With this in mind, the crew of Escanaba used a new rescue technique when pulling survivors from the water. This "retriever" technique used swimmers clad in wet suits to swim to victims in the water and secure a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97.


5. Joshua James and the Hull (MA) Life Saving Station (25-26 November 1888) - Over the two day period Keeper Joshua James and his crew by their zealous and unswerving work rescued some twenty-eight people from five different vessels during a great storm. In addition to the number of individuals rescued, the number of vessels involved, the weather conditions, and the duration of their efforts, James and his crew conducted differing types of rescues which included the employment of the beach apparatus and rescue by boat. For their versatility, endurance, skill, and dedication, James and his crew were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal.

6. The Priscilla Rescue - On 18 August 1899, Surfman Rasmus S. Midgett, from the Gull Shoal Life-Saving Station (NC), was conducting a beach patrol on horseback and came upon the barkentine, Priscilla, which had run aground. Given his distance from the station, he determined to do what he could alone. Immediately, he ran as close to the wreck as he could and shouted instructions for the men to jump overboard one at a time as the waves receded. Obeying his instructions, the sailors leapt overboard. Midgett, seized each man and dragged him from the pursuing waves safely to the beach. In this manner, he rescued seven men. There were still three men on board who were too weak to get off the vessel. Midgett went into the water and carried each of them to the beach. For the ten lives he saved, Midgett was subsequently awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal.

7. Keeper George N. Gray and the Charlotte (NY) Life Saving Station (14-15 December 1902) - The crew received the Gold Lifesaving Medal in recognition of their rescue of 4 men and 1 woman from the wreck of the schooner John R. Noyes. They were engaged for more than a day and a night with little sleep, having been under oars from 11:30 PM of the 14th to 4:30 PM. of the 15th with the exception of about two hours. They pulled in a heavy seaway for nearly 60 miles and all were covered in ice and were frostbitten. In addition to the conditions and distances rowed, the keeper commandeered a train and sleds to move the beach cart and equipment through the deep snow drifts for the launching of the surfboat.

8. Overland Rescue - In 1897, eight whaling ships were trapped in the Arctic ice near Point Barrow, Alaska. Concerned that the 265 crewmen would starve during the winter, the whaling companies appealed to President William McKinley to send a relief expedition. USRC Bear sailed northward from Port Townsend, Washington in late November 1897. With no chance of the cutter pushing through the ice to Point Barrow, it was decided to put a party ashore and have them drive reindeer to Point Barrow. Lieutenant David H. Jarvis was placed in charge. He was joined by fellow officers Lieutenant Ellsworth P. Bertholf and Surgeon Samuel J. Call along with three other men. Using sleds pulled by dogs and reindeer, snowshoes, and skis, the men began the expedition on 16 December. They arrived at Point Barrow, 1,500 miles later, on 29 March 1898. The expedition managed to bring 382 reindeer to the whalers, having lost only 66. For their work, Bertholf, Call, and Jarvis received a gold medal from the United States Congress.

9. Bermuda Sky Queen Rescue (14 October 1947) - The American-owned flying boat Bermuda Sky Queen, carrying sixty-nine passengers was flying from Foynes, Ireland to Gander, Newfoundland. Gale force winds had slowed her progress and she was running low on fuel. Too far from Newfoundland and unable to make it back to Ireland, the captain decided to fly toward the cutter Bibb which was on Ocean Station Charlie in the North Atlantic. The plane's captain decided to ditch and have his passengers and crew picked up by Bibb. In 30-foot seas, the transfer was both difficult and dangerous. Initially the Bibb's captain tried to pass a line to the plane which taxied to the lee side of the cutter. A collision with the cutter ended this attempt to save the passengers. With worsening weather, a fifteen man rubber raft and a small boat were deployed from the ship. The raft was guided to the escape door of the aircraft. Passengers jumped into the raft which was then pulled to the boat. After rescuing 47 of the crew, worsening conditions and the approach of darkness forced the rescue's suspension. By dawn, improved weather allowed the rescue to resume and the remaining passengers and crew were transferred to the Bibb. The rescue made headlines throughout the country and upon their arrival in Boston, Bibb and her crew received a hero's welcome for having saved all those aboard the ditched Bermuda Sky Queen.

10. 1937 Mississippi River Flood - During the disastrous 1937 Mississippi River flood, the Coast Guard rescued a total of 43,853 persons who they "removed from perilous positions to places of safety". Additionally, they saved 11,313 head of livestock and furnished transportation for 72 persons in need of hospitalization. In all 674 Coast Guardsmen and 128 Coast Guard vessels and boats served in the relief operations. The immense scope of the operations actually eclipsed the number of persons that the Coast Guard rescued during the Hurricane Katrina operations.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Chicamacomico (NC) Lifeboat Station (16 August 1918) - On 16 August 1918 the British steamship SS Mirlo, proceeding northward along the Atlantic coast, struck a mine laid by U-117 about 1 mile off the Wimble Shoal buoy, abreast of the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station. Her cargo of gasoline and refined oil spread over the sea and ignited. This converted the surface into a mass of flame and smoke. The matter of rescuing the crew was rendered extremely difficult owing to the heavy sea, quantities of wreckage everywhere, and the intense heat from the burning vessel and fuel. Despite these difficulties, Boatswain (L) John A. Midgett and the Chicamacomico Station crewmen forced their boat into this mass of fire and wreckage. After heroic efforts they rescued six men found clinging to a capsized boat. Midgett and his men then picked up two more boatloads (36 men) of the Mirlo's crew and landed them through the heavy surf. The total count of those rescued was 42 persons. For their efforts, Midgett and his crew were each awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal.


Carl von Paulsen Rescue - LCDR Carl von Paulsen set the seaplane Arcturus in a heavy sea in January 1933 off Cape Canaveral and rescued a boy adrift in a skiff. The aircraft sustained so much damage during the open water landing that it could not take off. Ultimately, Arcturus washed onto the beach and all including the boy were saved. He was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for this rescue. The rescue made him famous and he appeared in the "Unsung Heroes" comic book in the mid-1930s.

Coast Guard Announces 1,109,310 Lives Saved Since 1790


Washington- The U.S. Coast Guard announced during a ceremony today in Grand Haven, Mich., for its 217th birthday that 1,109,310 lives have been saved since its establishment in 1790.

Since 1924, the residents of Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg, Mich., have recognized the Coast Guard, the smallest of the armed forces, with an annual celebration. The festivities include Coast Guard cutter tours, a children's parade, a downtown carnival, nightly entertainment, a parade, a family picnic, and fireworks.

"When things are at their worst, America's Coast Guard is at its best," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "What began as a revenue enforcement agency with a fleet of ten cutters established by Alexander Hamilton more than 200 years ago has evolved into the world's premiere multi-mission, maritime and military service. It's fitting that we celebrate the Coast Guard's 217th birthday this August 4th as we recognize its brave men and women for saving more than 1 million lives over the course of its long and storied history."

"As America's lifesavers and guardians of the seas, Coast Guard men and women commit themselves every day to serving our nation and its people with selfless courage and unflinching determination," said Adm. Thad Allen, commandant of the Coast Guard. "This year we celebrate a remarkable milestone in our history as more than one million lives have been saved by the Coast Guard since 1790. What began as America's only lifesaving service charged with the dangerous duty of saving sailors from shipwrecks along our coasts has evolved into a modern-day, multi-mission Coast Guard that demonstrates the same commitment to saving lives that it did more than 200 years ago."

The Coast Guard is one of America's five armed forces and traces its founding to Aug. 4, 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Responsibilities added over the years included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress and the service received its present name in 1915 when the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the US Life-Saving Service to form a single maritime service dedicated to saving life at sea and enforcing the nation's maritime laws.

"The saying 'A life lived for others is a life worth while' truly summarizes being a member of the Coast Guard," said Capt. Jim McPherson, a Coast Guard spokesman. "For 217 years our brave members rowed through the surf to save lives or flew through storms to make daring rescues. Although the technology has advanced the common theme through the years is the heroism of Coast Guard women and men."

The number of lives saved was calculated by the Coast Guard historian's office through research of logs and records from the Coast Guard, the Revenue Cutter Service, the US Life-Saving Service, the Lighthouse Service and other agencies that eventually became the modern Coast Guard. In addition to tallying the total number of lives saved, the historian's office has compiled a list of the top ten rescues in the Coast Guard's history. The list shows the breadth of the Coast Guard's efforts to save lives in peril on the seas for over 217 years.

"While this top-ten list is subjective, it certainly conveys the heroism of our people conducting this vital mission," said Rear Adm. Mary Landry, director of governmental and public affairs.

It started with a simple e-mail request from a Soldier in Afghanistan. "If you have any dusty comedy cds laying around, we could sure use some laughs over here." That one request was all it took to set the wheels in motion to what quickly became my comedy cd drive for the Troops. Some e-mails, phone calls, and my story ending up in over 30 different newspapers in different states, and just four short weeks later, I proudly and tirelessly packed up and shipped 770 comedy cds to our Troops stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. I cannot begin to express how fun and personally fulfilling and rewarding it was nor can I thank enough the unbelievable amount of Standup Comedians across the US that came out in droves and donated to such a great cause.

I will do this again! If you are a comedian or in the comedy business in any way and would love to send some laughs overseas to our Troops in harms way in the form of cds or dvds please contact me!!!

Many Thanks!!
Becky

A partial list of the contributors/people involved:

Cyndi Fugate - Hendricks County Flyer
Artie Widgery - Comedian
Drew Hastings - Comedian
Greg Warren - Comedian
Chip Chinery - Comedian / Actor
Tom Mabe - Comedian
Wild Bill Bauer - Comedian
Todd Yohn - Comedian
Mark Sweeney - Comedian
The Bob & Tom Show
Don Reese - Comedian
Bertram Realty Group
Ross Bennett - Comedian
Wade Coggeshall - Journal Review - Crawfordsville
The Republican - Danville, Indiana
Attorney Terry Kessinger - Danville, Indiana
Danville Indiana Rotary Club
Mike Birbiglia - Comedian
Mark Klein - Comedian
Lord Carrett - Comedian
Capitol Records - Nashville
David Crowe - Comedian
Daren Streblow - Comedian
Jeff Allen - Comedian
Amy Hillenburg - Hoosier Times - Reporter Times - Martinsville, Indiana
The Herald Bulletin - Anderson, Indiana
Crystal Broersma & Family - Pittsboro, Indiana
Henry Daily Herald - McDonough, Georgia
Thomasville Times Enterprise - Thomasville, Georgia
The Herald-Tribune - Batesville, Indiana
New Castle News - New Castle, Pennsylvania
CNHI News Service
Douglas Daily News - Douglas, Georgia
Tribune Star - Terre Haute, Indiana
Ada Evening News - Ada, Oklahoma
The Moultrie Observer - Moultrie, Oklahoma
The Meadville Tribune - Meadville, Pennsylvania
The Lebanon Reporter - Lebanon, Indiana
Cleburne-Times Review - Cleburne, Texas
Cordele Dispatch - Cordele, Georgia
Clayton Daily News - Jonesboro, Georgia
James Gregory - Comedian
Corbin Times Tribune - Corbin, Kentucky
Cheryl Truex - Anderson, Indiana
The Crawdaddys
Greensburg Daily News - Greensburg, Indiana
Rex Havens - Comedian
The Rushville Republican - Rushville, Indiana
Zionsville Times Sentinel - Zionsville, Indiana
Jeff Havens - Comedian
The Pharos-Tribune - Logansport, Indiana
The Port Arthur News - Port Arthur, Texas
The Herald Times - Bloomington, Indiana
Tina & Greg Bucy - North Salem, Indiana
Vicki May - Indianapolis, Indiana
Lori Russ - Indianapolis, Indiana
Dawn McCombie - For Your Information Technologies - Altoona, PA
Mark Lowry - Comedian
Logan Hedrick - Danville, Indiana

Whether you hosted a show, came out to a show, donated money or non-perishable items, had a hand in promoting or putting the shows together, gave a word of encouragement along the way, or just sat quietly while I rambled on about the importance of supporting our troops overseas, in the last year alone you have helped me to help out and brighten the day of literally thousands of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen & Coast Guardsmen stationed overseas in such locations as Iraq, Afghanistan & Kuwait.

With that, I would like to extend a most Heartfelt Thank You to all of you and the following people for helping to make what was once a vision become a truly wonderful reality....

The Holiday Inn Lounge - Crawfordsville, Indiana
Timothy's Pub - Plainfield, Indiana
Tracie Shearer & The Royal Theater - Danville, Indiana
Mr. Marty Horn (USA-ret.) & the Any Soldier Organization
The Hendricks County Community Foundation & DeeDee Daniel
Brenda Bertram & Bertam Realty - Indianapolis, Indiana
The Hendricks County Flyer & Staff Writer Wage Coggeshall - Avon, Indiana
The Crawfordsville Journal Review (thanks again Wade Coggeshall) - Crawfordsville, Indiana
The Republican Newspaper - Danville, Indiana
Paul Smith & SAC Graphics - Clayton, Indiana
Sycamore Printing - Danville, Indiana
The Courthouse Grounds & Jones & Franklin Catering - Danville, Indiana
Kathy McMillan & CVS Drug Stores - Avon, Indiana
The Danville Rotary Club - Danville, Indiana
Theta Alpha Lamda Chapter of Phi Beta Psi- Plainfield, Indiana
SFC David Sills - USA
CPT (Chaplain) R. Jim Staggers - USA
Mr. Bill Franklin - Msgt USAF (ret.)
GySgt Cory Gehring - USMC

The Crown Room - Brownsburg, IN

US Vets - Los Angeles


Ssgt Paul DeBord - USMC and SFC Bradley Huppunen - USA
For sharing your thoughts, your experiences, and helping us all to get a feel for life "on the other side of the coin." There are no words to express my sincere appreciation.


The Comedians that have been so giving of their time:
Dario
Dave Dugan
Greg Warren
Will Hardesty
Stewart Huff
Mark Klein
Doug Daum

Rik Roberts

Dan Swartwout

Mark Schiff

Bernie McGrenehan


Last but not least, to all of our U.S. Service Members. No matter where you may be serving, your branch of the military, or your job, you are all important. It is through your unwavering dedication and sacrifice that I have gained inspiration.