Today it’s your turn to brighten someone’s day — to let a soldier in Iraq know that he hasn’t been forgotten by the people back home.
Fain Hamrick, whose son Brad was one of the first 1,000 paratroopers to jump out of a plane into the Iraqi landscape, is a member of the Military Support Group in Cleveland County.
The group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church.
On a regular basis, the group is asked if they can provide the names of Cleveland County soldiers. Church groups and civic clubs want to put together care packages, but don’t know where to send them.
"We need a place where people can call and leave the addresses," Hamrick said.
For now, military families can leave names and addresses by posting them in the comments section on the "Random Acts of Kindness" blog.
By compiling a list of names, we can help others pass along kindness to the soldiers who are giving up so much of their lives to serve our country.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Giving back
Sgt. 1st Class Russell Thorington, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Greg Thompson show their appreciation to Kalan Trammel. Kalan,12, used his birthday money to buy lunch for Thorington, Thompson and Sgt. Randy Hicks."It makes us feel proud and makes us feel that what we are doing is appreciated," Thompson said.
Honoring our servicemen
Kalan and his mom, Tammy Trammel, were eating lunch at Ken and Mary’s for his 12th birthday. Kalan noticed there were three Army men eating lunch.
"I had never seen any Army men eating anywhere and I decided to buy their lunch, because they are fighting for us. I figured the least I could do was buy their lunch."
He asked his mom if he could use his birthday money to buy lunch for the three men and went over to their table and picked up their tab.
Sgt. 1st Class Greg Thompson, who has served 23 years in the military, said they are used to adults offering to buy their meal, but "never, out-of-the-blue from a 12-year-old. His mom cried like a baby."
Kalan said that he watches the news and just wanted to show his appreciation in some small way.
Thompson and the other two officers, Sgt. 1st Class Russell Thorington and Sgt. Randy Hicks were really caught off guard by the 12-year-old.
"We knew that we had to do something else for him," said Thorington, who returned in September 2006 after a year in Iraq.
"It makes us feel proud and makes us feel that what we are doing is appreciated," Thompson said.
They gave Kalan a camouflage National Guard backpack filled with school supplies with the National Guard logo, playing cards and other fun stuff.
Kalan will be in the 7th grade at Crest Middle School. His father, Scott, wasn’t with them that day, but he’s also proud of his son.
"I had never seen any Army men eating anywhere and I decided to buy their lunch, because they are fighting for us. I figured the least I could do was buy their lunch."
He asked his mom if he could use his birthday money to buy lunch for the three men and went over to their table and picked up their tab.
Sgt. 1st Class Greg Thompson, who has served 23 years in the military, said they are used to adults offering to buy their meal, but "never, out-of-the-blue from a 12-year-old. His mom cried like a baby."
Kalan said that he watches the news and just wanted to show his appreciation in some small way.
Thompson and the other two officers, Sgt. 1st Class Russell Thorington and Sgt. Randy Hicks were really caught off guard by the 12-year-old.
"We knew that we had to do something else for him," said Thorington, who returned in September 2006 after a year in Iraq.
"It makes us feel proud and makes us feel that what we are doing is appreciated," Thompson said.
They gave Kalan a camouflage National Guard backpack filled with school supplies with the National Guard logo, playing cards and other fun stuff.
Kalan will be in the 7th grade at Crest Middle School. His father, Scott, wasn’t with them that day, but he’s also proud of his son.
Saving Morgan's hair
Virginia Deal of Salon Palazzo works to get the knot out of Morgan Koder's hair after her surgery. Five other stylists also worked on Morgan's hair.An act of caring and love
Morgan Koder, the daughter of Elaine and Brett Koder, is 16 and has the most beautiful long curly hair, which falls at her waist. Morgan was having surgery and didn’t want to cut her hair. The doctor told them they could wash her hair 48 hours after the surgery.
Elaine was going to try and wash Morgan's hair herself using one of the sinks at Salon Palazzo. But when beautician Virginia Deal saw Morgan's hair, she knew it was going to take a miracle.
About 2 inches down from the incision on Morgan’s scalp was a baseball-size matted mess of hair, Betadine and dried blood. Virginia along with Ann McCraw, Susan Brown (owner), Libby Davis, Candace Davis and Bambi Tessner made it their mission to save Morgan's hair.
"In between every client Virginia had and every client that everyone else had, they came and worked on Morgan’s hair," Elaine said. "Anytime anyone had a spare moment they worked on her hair. They kept working the matte down lower."
In all they spent 7 hours on Morgan's hair, getting the matte down far enough that they could cut it out and blend it in with the rest of Morgan’s hair.
"I offered to pay them, but they wouldn’t take any money," Elaine said. "Susan (Brown, the owner) said, ‘You’re like family and we wanted to do this for you.’"
Those women are one of the many reasons Elaine is glad to call Shelby home.
"When I came home that exhausting day, I thought about those six women and their compassion and commitment — that is the heart and soul of this town. It is infectious. It makes you want to be that way. It was an incredible gift for them to give to my daughter as they did," Elaine said.
Do you have a story like the Koders? You can share it here by posting a comment.
Elaine was going to try and wash Morgan's hair herself using one of the sinks at Salon Palazzo. But when beautician Virginia Deal saw Morgan's hair, she knew it was going to take a miracle.
About 2 inches down from the incision on Morgan’s scalp was a baseball-size matted mess of hair, Betadine and dried blood. Virginia along with Ann McCraw, Susan Brown (owner), Libby Davis, Candace Davis and Bambi Tessner made it their mission to save Morgan's hair.
"In between every client Virginia had and every client that everyone else had, they came and worked on Morgan’s hair," Elaine said. "Anytime anyone had a spare moment they worked on her hair. They kept working the matte down lower."
In all they spent 7 hours on Morgan's hair, getting the matte down far enough that they could cut it out and blend it in with the rest of Morgan’s hair.
"I offered to pay them, but they wouldn’t take any money," Elaine said. "Susan (Brown, the owner) said, ‘You’re like family and we wanted to do this for you.’"
Those women are one of the many reasons Elaine is glad to call Shelby home.
"When I came home that exhausting day, I thought about those six women and their compassion and commitment — that is the heart and soul of this town. It is infectious. It makes you want to be that way. It was an incredible gift for them to give to my daughter as they did," Elaine said.
Do you have a story like the Koders? You can share it here by posting a comment.
Friday, August 17, 2007
The good news in Cleveland County
I’m working on two stories for my first column in Tuesday’s paper that will warm your heart.
One is about a 12-year-old boy who spent money given to him for his birthday to do something nice for someone else.
The other story is about a group of ladies who went out of their way to show love and compassion to a 16-year-old.
I’m enjoying getting to talk to people about all the good things that are going on in our community. There’s a funny thing that happens when you do something nice for someone else: it’s contagious.
People hear about good deeds and they want to pass along the good feelings to someone else.
There’s another thing I’ve discovered about the people who are caught doing good things for others — they don’t want the recognition. It’s just their nature to help someone in need or to be nice — it’s how they were raised.
Because these people don’t seek the spotlight, I’m going to really need your help. Please share your stories by posting comments to this blog and keep checking here for more good news.
Thanks,
Jackie Bridges
One is about a 12-year-old boy who spent money given to him for his birthday to do something nice for someone else.
The other story is about a group of ladies who went out of their way to show love and compassion to a 16-year-old.
I’m enjoying getting to talk to people about all the good things that are going on in our community. There’s a funny thing that happens when you do something nice for someone else: it’s contagious.
People hear about good deeds and they want to pass along the good feelings to someone else.
There’s another thing I’ve discovered about the people who are caught doing good things for others — they don’t want the recognition. It’s just their nature to help someone in need or to be nice — it’s how they were raised.
Because these people don’t seek the spotlight, I’m going to really need your help. Please share your stories by posting comments to this blog and keep checking here for more good news.
Thanks,
Jackie Bridges
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Share your stories
Cleveland County is one of the best places to live and it's because of the caring, friendly people.
Time and time again, the people of Cleveland County have proven what big hearts they have -- whether it's giving to the United Way, American Cancer Society's Relay for Life or the Salvation Army's Empty Stocking Fund.
The people of Cleveland County -- from the young to the old -- care about their neighbors and they show it by the little random acts of kindness they do. Often, these inspirational stories are not publicized. But we want to share those stories to point out all the good things that go on in our community on a daily basis.
We need your help to shine the light on these good deeds. On Tuesday, look for a new column in The Star by Special Projects Editor Jackie Bridges. This column will feature stories about your neighbors and the things they have done to make their part of the world a little brighter.
Time and time again, the people of Cleveland County have proven what big hearts they have -- whether it's giving to the United Way, American Cancer Society's Relay for Life or the Salvation Army's Empty Stocking Fund.
The people of Cleveland County -- from the young to the old -- care about their neighbors and they show it by the little random acts of kindness they do. Often, these inspirational stories are not publicized. But we want to share those stories to point out all the good things that go on in our community on a daily basis.
We need your help to shine the light on these good deeds. On Tuesday, look for a new column in The Star by Special Projects Editor Jackie Bridges. This column will feature stories about your neighbors and the things they have done to make their part of the world a little brighter.
You can post your suggestions here.
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