Christmas 2003-Valentine 2004

(If you surfed to this page, came through a link on a different Web site, or from a Web Ring, please be sure to check out the photo album and its linked pages for a visual overview of how the Fan Mail campaign functions.)

Many thanks, not only to everyone listed below, but also to the thousands of other wonderful individuals, families, schools, colleges / universities, churches, groups, etc. who did so much to make the Fan Mail campaign such a resounding success!

ORGANIZATIONS

1. (14,003)  AmVets & Auxiliary Post 33 (Debra Shaffer) - Dayton, OH
2. (10,565)  American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 81 (Phyllis Reeves) - Lake Havasu City, AZ
3. (10,350)  American Legion Auxiliary, Denbigh Unit 368 (Sharron Diaz & Nancy Whitenight) - Newport News, VA
4. (  9,439)  American Legion Auxiliary, Commodore Denig Unit #83 (Nancy Bahnsen & Ruth Steele) - Sandusky, OH
5. (  6,859)  Boone County 4-H (Donna Manring) - Belvidere, IL

INDIVIDUALS

1. (  5,175)  Emma J. Butz - Trumbull, CT.........This year's campaign is in memory of Mrs. Butz.................
2. (  3,161)  Esther Peters - Sandusky, OH
3. (  3,000)  Coline Goodrich - Newport News, VA
4. (  2,381)  Tiffany J. Beeman - Pine Grove, PA
5. (  2,369)  Kathleen A. Miller - Sandusky, OH

CHURCHES

1. (  9,267)  Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel (Barb Bender & Maggie Biter & the Altar & Rosary Society) - Loretto, PA
2. (  9,177)   Suqualena United Methodist Church (Kevin & Gift Rainey) - Meridian, MS
3. (  9,008)  Mint Spring United Methodist Church (Pat Benson) -   Mint Spring, VA
4. (  8,248)  First Christian Church (Mrs. William J. Wallace) - Newnan, GA
5. (  3,759)  First United Methodist Church (Eleanor Perkinson) - Eatonton, GA

MILITARY

1. (  2,150)  Charleston/Goose Creek, SC - Navy Wives Clubs of America, MenRiv Park #240 (Hazel Cole)
2. (  1,325)  Marine Corps League, Donald Cook Detachment (Barbara A. Kaufman) - Burlington, VT
3. (  1,250)  Fort Bragg/Fayetteville, NC - Committee of Friends
4. (     240)  Travis Air Force Base, CA (Barbara Loomis)
5. (     151)  Fort Knox, KY (Anne Aubrey & the Beta Club of Scott Middle School)

COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES

1. (15,800)  West Virginia Northern Community College (Donald R. Chamberlain & COOP) - Wheeling, WV
2. (  6,654)  New River Community College (Pat McPeak & the Office of Veterans' Affairs) - Dublin, VA
3. (  5,543)  SUNY Cobleskill (Cherie Stevens & the Student Community Service Club) - Cobleskill, NY
4. (  3,709)  Northeast State Community College (Dr. Laura Barnett & Volunteer Northeast State) - Blountville, TN
5. (  3,096)  St. Francis University (Barb Sherry & the Food Service Department; Sara Rathburn & the Office of Residence Life) - Loretto, PA

HIGH SCHOOLS

1. (14,001)  Wheelersburg High School (Melody Williams) - Wheelersburg, OH
2. (  7,053)  Oak Creek High School  (Shannon Wagner) - Oak Creek, WI
3. (  6,352)  Pine Grove Area High School (William D. Wilgus, LTC, USA (Ret.) & Army JROTC) - Pine Grove, PA
4. (  5,000)  G. Holmes Braddock Senior High (William Welp, Jr., CDR, USN (Ret.) & Navy JROTC) - Miami, FL
5. (  3,462)  Riverview High School (COL(R) James C. Staubach & Army JROTC) - Sarasota, FL

JUNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOLS

1. (  5,133)  Stuarts Draft Middle School - Stuarts Draft, VA
2. (  4,145)  Phoenixville Area Middle School (Mary Ellen Lynott) - Phoenixville, PA
3. (  4,001)  Fredericktown Middle School - Fredericktown, MO
4. (  2,747)  Redwood Valley Middle School (Sandra Swartz) - Redwood Falls, MN
5. (  2,637)  Fort Defiance Middle School - Fort Defiance, VA

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

1. (  4,450)  Niedringhaus Elementary School (Linda Mizell & the PTA) - Granite City, IL
2. (  2,894)  Spring Garden School (Doreen Holland & the Military Fan Mail Club) - Nutley, NJ
3. (  2,600)  Springfield Estates Elementary School (Carolyn Smith Gibson) - Springfield, VA
4. (  1,570)  Memorial Elementary School (Jo-Ann D. Morgan) - MIlford, MA
5. (  1,293)  St. John the Evangelist School - Uniontown, PA 

   The top member in each category on the national "Top Friends" list is awarded a trophy.

The mail was sorted and processed in Georgia one year, and would likely have remained there had it not been for ... (well, let's not get into bureaucrat-bashing here--we could be sent up the river for a hate crime). And, we appreciate all our outstanding members in Georgia.
Among our leading members nationally: First Christian Church, Newnan, was #1 among all churches (we'll get around to updating the "Churches" page one of these years), and New Lebanon Presbyterian Church, Jasper, was the top Presbyterian Church nationally. Mary-Margaret Finney of Roswell, in the top 10 individuals in a recent year; the McEachern High School Beta Club, Powder Springs, has been in the top half-dozen high schools and number one Beta Club in past years.

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This campaign has a special relationship with Kentucky, where the mail was sorted and processed for a number of years. The parent group of the Friends of Our Troops Committee is located in Kentucky. (Also as noted on the colleges page--though we love all our college/university members equally--our webmaster is a big Kentucky Wildcats basketball fan.)
Jackie Kasten of Florence and Kim Dotson of Freeburn have been in the top 10 individuals nationally in recent years. See the veterans page also, as VFW Ladies Auxiliary, Ralph Fulton #6423 of Erlanger, the number one group in Kentucky, has been in the top 10 groups and top five VFW nationally.

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A couple of soldiers from Aberdeen Proving Ground helped out the year the mail was sorted and processed in Maryland.
We are also very proud of all our outstanding Maryland members. The Catholic War Veterans Auxiliary in Baltimore was the top group in Maryland and among the leading Catholic members nationally.
Ladies Auxiliary Fleet Reserve Association Unit #93 of Lexington Park was the #2 LAFRA unit nationally.
(While we were very embarrassed by Maryland's persecution of Linda Tripp, we were happy to see that it was dropped!)

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We have so many outstanding members in Ohio! Those among the top members nationally appearing in the Ohio version of the "Top Friends" page included:
AmVets & Auxiliary Post 33 in Dayton; American Legion Auxiliary, Commodore Denig Unit 83 in Sandusky; AmVets Post 33 & Auxiliary of Dayton; and AmVets, Auxiliary & Sons of AmVets, Polk Township #1979, Galion, were the #1, #2 and #3 groups respectively. Esther Peters of Sandusky and Mollie "Dee" Eusey of Mt. Gilead were #2 and #3 individuals respectively.
Wheelersburg High School of Wheelersburg was the #1 high school.

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This campaign owes a special debt of gratitude to Texas. The NCO Wives Club of Fort Bliss was the top military participant nationally for several years.
The mail was sorted and processed three different years in Texas, including one year in space made available by the Armed Services YMCA/El Paso.

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We also appreciate all our outstanding members in West Virginia. West Virginia Northern Community College in Wheeling has been one of the top colleges nationally for several years and was again #1 in the list above.
West Virginia was one of the places considered when planning was underway to relocate the Friends of Our Troops Committee's HQ.
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 15 of Parkersburg and Smith-Capehart Unit 140 of New Haven were the #9 and #19 American Legion Auxiliaries nationally. The Beta Club of Man High School in Man was in the top half-dozen Beta Clubs nationwide.
Also, one of our favorite movies of all time is "October Sky." If you haven't seen it, we encourage you to beg, borrow or steal it (well, maybe not quite so far as to steal it). The movie, set in Coalwood (McDowell County), W.V., in about 1957, is well worth watching. Our copy of the movie has received a very heavy workout!

United in Service to Others...United in Service to America
Successor to Vietnam Mail Call...
Now 40 years of service to and support of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.
Supporting our troops at more than 1,000 places across the U.S. & around the world. We really spread it around!

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