The Montgomery County Economic Partnership is organizing Montgomery County “We Care” packages to be sent with each of the soldiers from the Winona National Guard who are deploying to Iraq in mid-June.
Each box will contain Gold Bond Foot Powder, baby wipes, toothpaste, tooth brush, dental floss, first aid kit, mouth wash, Lifesavers in a bag, mints in a bag, gum, razors, lip balm, sun screen, and lotion. They will also include a disk containing photographs of the Montgomery County going away celebration from Tina Heath and a copy of The Winona Times Troop Tribute edition. Brother Johnny Walker wrote a special prayer for the troops printed on a card and donated pewter crosses for them to carry in their pockets.
The cost of each package is $20, and sponsorships are available for businesses and individuals.
"We decided to send them these packages every three months," EPD executive Sue Stidham said. "It will include necessity items that the soldiers really need, and the boxes will be small enough to pack in their duffle bags."
Julie Halfacre is chairing the "Montgomery County We care Package" program.
Stidham, who is organizing the county's Yellow Ribbon program for the troops, said she is now focusing on the holidays.
"We want to make sure the troops and their families have a special Christmas," she said. "We would like suggestions from the community of what we can do for them."
Stidham said local businesses can get involved by adopting a soldier. This would include sending care packages, letters, and other news from home to a soldier to help ease the separation from his family and friends.
"We want to continue our support of the troops throughout their entire tour," Stidham said.
Winona's Bravo Battery 2/114th Field Artillery Unit will deploy mid-June for a 12 month deployment to Iraq.
The battery is part of the Mississippi Army National Guard's 155th Brigade Combat Team, headquartered in Tupelo and will mobilize under a Presidential Partial Mobilization of Reserve Forces. The combat team consists of 3,400 soldiers from 51 units across the state.
Please call the EDP at 662-283-4828 for more details.
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