11/2/05

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE UPDATE

New Address for Message in a Bottle deliveries and general update:

This year we will be shipping our messages to Nellis AFB, in Nevada .  The address is:

TSGT Meril Monteagudo

4311 N. Washington Blvd

Nellis AFB , NV 89191-7073

There have been a lot of newcomers to the project in the last six months so I thought I would include in this update a brief history of how the project started, what I have done so far to promote the project, and just where the project stands today. 

While preparing for the holidays last winter, I couldn’t help thinking how depressing it must be to be far from home and family and not be able to share your holiday feelings and traditions with the people you care about. I thought it would be cool to offer to send little gifts/messages for servicemen who couldn’t do it for themselves. And of course the first thing that popped into my vision was-what else?- a little gourd. The original intent of the bottles was to use them to deliver messages “from” servicemen, “to” their loved ones. They are light, small, available, unique, and relatively inexpensive to mail. Knowing that deployed personnel have access to e-mail, we (my daughter and I) set up a web page stating our purpose and giving an e-mail address for contacting us. I then began seeking ways to make servicemen aware of the offer. There are so many, I was sure I could get a toe in the door somewhere. (I didn’t have to go looking for gourd artists to decorate the bottles, they immediately began coming to me!)

The following is a list of people and places (besides gourd growers and artists)  I have contacted for help promoting the project. (Most of these phone numbers and e-mail addresses came from D.O.D. web sites, “Stars And Stripes” newspaper, and U.S. Government web pages.) I have probably forgotten some, but you get the idea. To those of you who have contacted me with suggestions, Thank you !!

·        Red Cross, both here, at their Oklahoma offices, in Baghdad , and in Kuwait . (I called and sent e-mails.) The Red Cross people in Oklahoma and Phoenix , AZ. were extremely helpful, but they only get involved in the case of family crisis situations and suggested I contact Army Public Affairs

·        I e-mailed a diplomatic office in Baghdad and a couple of public affairs offices overseas. I made such a pest of myself they probably have my name flagged. I got no response whatsoever from the overseas offices.

·        Public affairs officers for the Army Reserves in Phoenix . They were the first to let me know that they thought the idea was great, but would not encourage the men to give out personal information, for their families' security. They suggested I contact family support groups for the various service branches. For their part, they promised to “pass the word” among their own people.

·        Public Affairs Offices in Washington , DC  for the Army and the Marines. No response.

·        Public Affairs Officers at Pendleton Marine base. Had no recommendations, but promised to pass the information along to commanders “up the chain”.

·        Public Affairs Officer at Ft. Huachuca Army base .She referred me to Outreach Ministry Chaplain, but so far we have not connected.

·        Family Readiness Officer, Nellis Air Force Base, asked for samples

·        Family Readiness Officers, Luke AFB, asked for samples.

·        Stars & Stripes, a military publication distributes among the troops. I am told they read them cover to cover and pass them around. The advertising staff said they were going to recommend that the paper do an editorial about the project, but this appears to have died.

·        I send e-mails regularly through the Support Our Troops pages, addressed to “Any Soldier”

·        Marine Parents, Inc. This is a support group of and for parents of Marines on active duty. They don’t recommend that Marines give out information to strangers. Among the possibilities we discussed was us giving the bottles to them, and letting them receive the messages from Marines. They were also going to have their Arizona contact do a background search on me, to see if they could recommend the project or not. I have not heard more on this yet.  

The best responses were from Luke and Nellis Air Bases. Their Family Readiness Officers, particularly at Luke AFB, wanted to hand out the bottles to returning servicemen. Luke has a de-briefing gathering, and Nellis actually has a welcome home ceremony. They said there is a real need for the men to hear from us, the public, letting them know that we support what they are doing. That is why I asked the artists who have donated bottles to put welcome home messages in them.

To date, all of our bottles have gone to Luke AFB. They were distributed on a “first through the door, first served” basis, to airmen returning home during the past year. Master Sergeant Carmichael told me the bottles were a popular item. This year, just for a change, we will be sending the bottles to Nellis AFB in Nevada .

I want to emphasize that every single person I contacted, in whatever capacity, was extremely supportive. Some went to great lengths to help find outlets because they thought the idea was great and wanted to see it grow. But the most important concern, without any doubt, is always going to be the safety of the families. Frankly, I am not interested in trying to circumvent security measures. But I will keep looking for a way to fulfill the original purpose of the bottles without compromising anyone’s safety.

For the future:

Until and unless we find a way to deliver messages “from” servicemen, I am happy delivering messages “to” them. I feel this is a cause worthy of our efforts. They give so much, it is great to be able to say thank you in a memorable way. And I have not given up on the original mission. Although I had hoped to have each artist deliver message gourds directly to the intended recipient, I see no hope of this ever happening, because of the security issues. I do have hopes, however, of finding another way to deliver the messages. I get inquiries once in a while from relatives wanting to tell their servicemen about the project, and I believe eventually we will get requests. But this is not “my” project. I could never have done any of this by myself. The AGS, the AZGS and the CAGS have all been extremely helpful in publicizing and supporting the project, not to mention the countless people who have contacted me directly. Without gourd people, there are no bottles to deliver. So if any of you have suggestions, or other opinions, please feel free to let me know. As long as there are others wanting to work on this project, I will continue to solicit mini-bottle gourds and artists to decorate them. I am also fund raising in my own community to cover shipping costs. I have been very fortunate because many donors and artists have paid for shipping themselves, and I have not had to spend a lot of time seeking donations. I have a donation can on the counter of my local market, received a generous contribution from my local Rotary Club, and have received permission to place a donation can in the local VFW hall.

NEW CONTRIBUTORS:

Ray Davis, of Gourd Gracious, joined the project in April. She has generously donated gourds for the project. Many of them have just been decorated by Patsy Dlouhy and her painting club in Victoria , TX .

We currently have more than 170 bottles out there being decorated. Since shipping is an issue, I am trying to match up artists and donors without actually having the gourds sent to me. If you would like to work on gourds for the project, just let me know and I will work it out. You can also help us reach more servicemen. If you have family or friends serving in the military, give them our contact information. Contact a military installation near you, or near to your heart, and ask to speak to their Public Affairs Officer or Family Support Office. If they want bottles, let me know! Or, just fill the order yourself! If you have bottles, and artists, don’t be shy! Go for it!

Again, the delivery address for bottles this year is:

TSGT Meril Monteagudo

4311 N. Washington Blvd

Nellis AFB , NV 89191-7073

TSGT. Monteagudo has also requested that some of the bottles be given messages for the families that are left behind. The bottles can then be passed on from the family members to their deployed servicemen as gifts. It's a great idea!  He has in mind their Thanksgiving Day Family Gathering on Nov 17, but it would be a good idea all through the holidays.

When putting your messages in the bottles, include a little note about yourself and the project. Be sure to make a note on the outside of the box indicating whether the bottles are for returning servicemen or families. Don’t forget to sign your art work! And don’t forget to take pictures so I can post your artwork on the web site. Please let me know how many bottles you send so I will know when goals are met. Thank you so much.

Loretta