Exchange Club to honor Hometown Hero sponsors
Honoring the sponsors who make the Hometown Heroes program possible is top on the agenda for the Round Lake Area Exchange Club's annual membership drive breakfast Wednesday, March 9, at the Round Lake Area Park District's Sports Center in Round Lake Beach.
The Hometown Hero Program recognizes local servicemen and women who serve in the military. Started in fall 2010, the program falls under the club's Americanisms platform. The Hometown Hero Americanism program will be six years old this fall and the club has instituted an annual honoring of sponsors.
At the annual membership breakfast, where heroes and their families have been invited, the club will celebrate the following five-plus years sponsors: Judy Armstrong, B.E.S.T; Collision Solutions; Dr. Connie Collins of Round Lake Area Unit District 116; Consumers Credit Union; Mano a Mano Family Resource Center; Round Lake Area Park District; and Linda Snelton of NICASA.
The club also thanks this year's sponsors: Diana's Salon & Spa, Robert Frank Realty and Savory Spice Shop Libertyville.
Thanks to the donations from sponsors, more than 50 "Hanging with the Heroes" packages have been sent to service people around the world. Those packages have been filled with favorites chosen by family members especially for their hero. Care packages often include beef jerky, sweet and sour candy, snacks and treats. Some of the special requests have been socks, a study Bible, White Sox hat, Lou Malnati's pizza, ear buds and sports magazines.
Heroes also receive letters from students in District 116 schools, a personalized T-shirt from Artrageous, and "a little piece of home" - a little jar with a few tablespoons of American soil usually collected from the hero's front yard.
Hometown Heroes was inspired when charter member Bruce Johnson, CEO of NICASA and retired chief warrant officer with the U.S. Marines, was deployed.
"A few of us had a conversation of what we could do to support Bruce while he was gone. We had a small idea to write him letters and that led to a brainstorming session that ended with the Hometown Hero project," said chairwoman Sherry Ridge, who is an instructor at McHenry County College.
What started as a simple conversation about honoring service people has become a national project for Exchange Clubs throughout the country, organizers said.
Any and all military personnel serving overseas or in the USA, whether active or reserve, from any of the Round Lake-area communities, Hainesville, Fox Lake, Ingleside, or surrounding areas qualify for the program.
Members of the public are invited to register neighbors, friends, and loved ones at the Club's site www.rlaexchange.org/hero. When selected, they are sent a care package from the club.
For more information, visit the website or contact program chair Sherry Ridge at (847) 740-2379.