Troops receive 'little piece of home' from Houston students
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Mary Therese Tebbe and Chief Master Sgt. Jay Willis pick up cards and letters from Linwood Elementary on Tuesday. The student-written letters and cards will be delivered to troops at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany later this month.
Playing the dual role of postmistress and Santa Claus, for the 13th time, is Mary Therese Tebbe, who in everyday life is executive director of the 21st Century Partnership.
Tuesday, Tebbe and Chief Master Sgt. Jay Willis, producer of Operation Season’s Greetings, stopped by eight schools to pick up the letters and cards written by students from elementary to high school.
“These kids understand,” said Angela Lewis, the parent involvement coordinator at Linwood Elementary, where about 65 percent of students have a parent serving in the military. “One boy wrote that he knew he could ride his bike safely because ‘they’re protecting the United States.’ They know troops are deployed to safeguard our freedom.”
The presence of Robins Air Force Base plays a big role in students being aware of the military, Lewis said, and the school system is acutely aware how that impacts students.
“It starts at home,” said Linwood Principal Lazunia Frierson. “We emphasize dedication and have a strong tradition or supporting our troops.”
The school contributed more than 370 cards and letters this week, said Lewis, and some are genuinely heartfelt.
Fourth grade student Camilla wrote about her father being gone for six months.
“I even got up at 2 a.m. to say good-bye, but he was already gone,” she wrote.
Christina, another fourth grade student, wrote that she understood in her own way how the troops missed home.
“My Dad has been gone already 250 days. It’s really hard to be in the military,” she wrote.
Fifth grade student Brianna wrote a particularly touching letter, noting that her father was killed in an airplane crash.
“It was on my birthday, when I was 1 year old,” she wrote.
Tebbe hugged the girl, saying it was “awesome” that she shared her feelings like that.
“I cry and laugh at the same time,” Tebbe said. “Our kids have a personal attachment with the troops.”
Tebbe and Willis will deliver the Linwood greetings to Ramstein, Germany, some time toward the end of this month, she said, and the others to the Middle East afterward.
Willis said he’s been doing this since the mid-1990s, and he genuinely loves “bringing a little piece of home” to always-grateful troops.
“I get to play Santa Claus,” said Tebbe, who added she reads some of the mail while flying overseas and shares letters from different states with troops at shows.
It may sound parochial, but she insisted letters from Middle Georgia are different than ones from other places.
“We’ve got the greatest kids in Houston County; they know the military experience first-hand,” she said. “And I love being able to deliver something from home to the troops and being asked to give hugs to people back here.”
This is the 10th year the Houston County School System has supported Operation Season’s Greetings with the Band of the Air Force Reserve.
This year’s special guest artists who will help Tebbe and Willis deliver the students’ greetings are country music rising star and former Warner Robins resident Jessie James and award-winning superstar Kid Rock.
They will visit troops fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, bringing them tidings from home and thank-you notes for their sacrifice.
“I know I’ve delivered more than 100,000 letters to the troops,” said Tebbe. “The number one thing they say is that they want to write back to the students.”
Lewis said it’s helpful students with parents in the military have such a wide-ranging support system in the schools and community.
“The kids do help the community understand its role as far as support,” Lewis said. “Their being here in our schools brings a dialogue and a good opportunity to connect the schools with the community.
Other schools visited by Tebbe and Willis on Tuesday were Eagle Springs Elementary, Miller Elementary, Lake Joy Primary, Houston County High, and Mossy Creek, Feagin Mill and Huntington middle schools.
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Troops receive 'little piece of home' from Houston students
9 months ago | 350 views | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | |
Mary Therese Tebbe and Chief Master Sgt. Jay Willis pick up cards and letters from Linwood Elementary on Tuesday. The student-written letters and cards will be delivered to troops at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany later this month.
Playing the dual role of postmistress and Santa Claus, for the 13th time, is Mary Therese Tebbe, who in everyday life is executive director of the 21st Century Partnership.
Tuesday, Tebbe and Chief Master Sgt. Jay Willis, producer of Operation Season’s Greetings, stopped by eight schools to pick up the letters and cards written by students from elementary to high school.
“These kids understand,” said Angela Lewis, the parent involvement coordinator at Linwood Elementary, where about 65 percent of students have a parent serving in the military. “One boy wrote that he knew he could ride his bike safely because ‘they’re protecting the United States.’ They know troops are deployed to safeguard our freedom.”
The presence of Robins Air Force Base plays a big role in students being aware of the military, Lewis said, and the school system is acutely aware how that impacts students.
“It starts at home,” said Linwood Principal Lazunia Frierson. “We emphasize dedication and have a strong tradition or supporting our troops.”
The school contributed more than 370 cards and letters this week, said Lewis, and some are genuinely heartfelt.
Fourth grade student Camilla wrote about her father being gone for six months.
“I even got up at 2 a.m. to say good-bye, but he was already gone,” she wrote.
Christina, another fourth grade student, wrote that she understood in her own way how the troops missed home.
“My Dad has been gone already 250 days. It’s really hard to be in the military,” she wrote.
Fifth grade student Brianna wrote a particularly touching letter, noting that her father was killed in an airplane crash.
“It was on my birthday, when I was 1 year old,” she wrote.
Tebbe hugged the girl, saying it was “awesome” that she shared her feelings like that.
“I cry and laugh at the same time,” Tebbe said. “Our kids have a personal attachment with the troops.”
Tebbe and Willis will deliver the Linwood greetings to Ramstein, Germany, some time toward the end of this month, she said, and the others to the Middle East afterward.
Willis said he’s been doing this since the mid-1990s, and he genuinely loves “bringing a little piece of home” to always-grateful troops.
“I get to play Santa Claus,” said Tebbe, who added she reads some of the mail while flying overseas and shares letters from different states with troops at shows.
It may sound parochial, but she insisted letters from Middle Georgia are different than ones from other places.
“We’ve got the greatest kids in Houston County; they know the military experience first-hand,” she said. “And I love being able to deliver something from home to the troops and being asked to give hugs to people back here.”
This is the 10th year the Houston County School System has supported Operation Season’s Greetings with the Band of the Air Force Reserve.
This year’s special guest artists who will help Tebbe and Willis deliver the students’ greetings are country music rising star and former Warner Robins resident Jessie James and award-winning superstar Kid Rock.
They will visit troops fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, bringing them tidings from home and thank-you notes for their sacrifice.
“I know I’ve delivered more than 100,000 letters to the troops,” said Tebbe. “The number one thing they say is that they want to write back to the students.”
Lewis said it’s helpful students with parents in the military have such a wide-ranging support system in the schools and community.
“The kids do help the community understand its role as far as support,” Lewis said. “Their being here in our schools brings a dialogue and a good opportunity to connect the schools with the community.
Other schools visited by Tebbe and Willis on Tuesday were Eagle Springs Elementary, Miller Elementary, Lake Joy Primary, Houston County High, and Mossy Creek, Feagin Mill and Huntington middle schools.