Residents can add thanks to cards bound for troops
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on May 28, 2007 1:45 PM
Wayne County residents will have until mid-June to be part of a national effort to thank the thousands of servicemen and women serving their country overseas.
All they have to do is head over to local car dealership Doug Henry Buick Pontiac and GMC to add their thank-you cards and letters to a box headed for the Middle East.
Thank-you cards or letters must arrive at the dealership by June 14 to give Doug Henry's Internet sales manager, Sharon Davenport, time to ship off the box June 15.
Ms. Davenport said General Motors contacted Orange County, Calif., high school student Shauna Fleming, who started the thank-you letter drive with an Internet blog at aMillionThanks@aol.com.
"She is trying to collect one million letters," Ms. Davenport said.
GM then sent the boxes out to 3,700 participating dealerships, including Doug Henry.
And for those who come to dealership and do not have their letter already prepared, Ms. Davenport said they have envelopes and paper on hand.
"Whatever they want to do, we have it set up for them," she said. "We have posters they can sign."
The dealership had a booth at the recent air show on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and many people stopped and sat down and wrote letters. Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and television star Barry Williams of "The Brady Bunch" fame also signed a poster.
Guidelines for the cards and letters include no glitter attached and no politics.
"The more positive it is, the better. It's about honoring the men and women who are there," Ms. Davenport said. "Handmade cards are preferred. Any size card is fine."