FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

'Hero' Receives National Award

By April Cobos, Bay Beacon Correspondent

August 17, 2005 -- Heroes don't have to be supersized.

Bailey Reese of Niceville, 9, may have been the smallest person in the room at last week's OKaloosa County School Board meeting, but her efforts on behalf of servicemen on deployment in Iraq have been nothing short of Herculean.

The Edge Elementary fourth grader has helped raise over $100,000 in supplies for care packages for American servicemen and school supply tote bags for Iraqi schoolchildren.

Schools Superintendent Don Gaetz and School Board Vice Chairman Howard Hill presented bailey with a certificate in recognition of her recent national award from Kmart Corporation.  Kmart awarded Bailey a $2500 savings bond for college, and a $500 back-to-school shopping spree, and sent her on an all-expense trip to New York City over summer vacation.

Representatives of the Kmart Corporation will formally present Bailey with her award at the Niceville Kmart Saturday, August 20th at 11a.m.  Edge will also receive a $2500 grant in honor of Bailey.

At the board meeting, Hill asked Bailey what her favorite part of this all has been.  "Riding the beast," she said referring to a speedboat ride in New York City that takes passengers on a 30-minute tour on the Manhattan to the Statue of Liberty and back.

For over two years, Bailey has been working alongside her brother, Tim Calvert, 14, and sister Erica, 16, collecting and sorting and packaging supplies to send overseas.

The three siblings began collecting supplies in November 2003, with the help of a family friend, Air Force Maj. Keith Peloquin, who was serving at Balad Air Base in Iraq.  They called their project "Hero Hugs."  The first shipment of troop care packages arrived at Balad in January 2004.

A year later, the youngsters began collecting and sending tote bags containing school supplies to Iraqi schoolchildren.  They dubbed that project "Operation Iraqi Friendship."  Today the siblings have begun collecting and distributing baby supplies to the families of those same schoolchildren.

"We hope that the program will help foster a friendlier relationship between the citizens of Iraq and the United States soldiers there to help them," Erica said.

Members of the Safety Office of the 332d Expeditionary Wing in Balad have established a kind of permanent supply line, and distribute the packages to troop members and schoolchildren throughout Iraq.  Many of the troop packages go to wounded servicemen.

A year ago, when Erica and Tim began the school supplies program, Bailey took over the troop packages project, said her mother, Diana Reese.

Nearly 2,500 Niceville elementary, middle and high school students support the projects by donating their time and supplies.

Each month Erica and Tim send some kind of holiday themed bag to the troops serving at Balad Air Base in Iraq.  In addition they send about 100 care bags at a time to be passed out to wounded U.S. soldiers in hospitals in Iraq.

Each bag consists of crossword puzzle books, novels, magazines, gum, hard candy, small individual packages of cookies, individual bags of peanuts, individual bags of cheetos, a breakfast cereal type bar and some kind of mint like Mentos or Tic Tacs.

Each bag also contains a card from a child in the U.S. wishing the soldier well and thanking them for their service.

For supply lists, and information on how to help, visit herohugs.org or www.operationiraqifriendship.org. 

To arrange for pick-up of donated items email [email protected].

BACK