Positivity: Over 10,000 Deployed Soldiers Served
Kristen Holloway of Pittsburgh, PA has done a lot:
President Presents Award to Troop Supporter
By The Intelligencer, Wheeling, W.Va.
March 23, 2006America Supports You member Kristen Holloway of Pittsburgh, Pa., greets President Bush at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport prior to his town hall meeting March 23 at the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling, W.Va. Photo by Scott McCloskey
WHEELING, W.Va., March 23, 2006 - President George W. Bush’s first official act upon touching down at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport just before noon today was to present the President’s Volunteer Service Award to Kristen Holloway of Pittsburgh, Pa.
The President and his entourage of Secret Service, White House staff and media then traveled by motorcade south on W.Va. 2 into downtown Wheeling, where at press time President Bush was entering a town hall meeting on the War on Terror.
To thank them for making a difference in the lives of others, President Bush has met with more than 480 individuals around the country, like Holloway, since March 2002.
Holloway is the founder and president of Operation Troop Appreciation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting deployed troops fighting the War on Terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Africa.
Since its inception in 2004, OTA has reached more than 10,000 troops with care packages tailored to meet each unit’s specific requests.
Through fund-raising and in-kind donations, OTA volunteers have collected and sent DVDs, phone cards and sports equipment. All care packages also include a letter of thanks to each soldier in the unit.
In 2005, OTA received a request for musical instruments from the 463d Engineer Combat Battalion from Wheeling.
Operation Troop Appreciation sent 12 instruments, including acoustic guitars, a keyboard and drums that were used by troops at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation tent and chapel services at Camp Anaconda in Iraq.
