Have you thanked a soldier lately?

Today is National Military Appreciation Day. Do you know a soldier’s email address? Send him or her a nice e-card thanking him/her for his/her service and support! American Greetings has a nice selection in their Celebrate the Date section.

Also, don’t forget that the Friday before Mother’s Day (tomorrow!!!) is Military Spouse Appreciation Day!

(x-posted to my blog)

Don’t forget to vote!

Just a quick reminder that today is the day we need to vote for Patti! The polls are open from 9am to 9pm EST. You can vote 10 times for each email address, so vote often!!

To vote, go here: www.nbc.com/Americas_Favorite_Mom/vote

Patti is listed in the “Military Mom” category.

My Frequently Used & Bookmarked

Here are a few entries from the Soldiers’ Angels forums that I keep bookmarked and refer to now and again. These may be useful to Bama Angels who’ve adopted a soldier:

• Where is my soldier located?
• How to Find out More about your Adoptee
• Care package suggestions
• Themed Care Package Ideas List
• Important Phone Numbers & Sites for Shipping
• Customs Forms Are Online
• Flat Rate Boxes (new!)
• website for free return address labels
• Getting more involved

Ft. Rucker Farewell Party Video

Courtesy of Lori, a video montage is available containing photos from the farewell party for the 46th Eng. Btl. at Fort Rucker a few weeks ago:

Nice work, Lori. You and your team did a great job!

Operation Recruiter Appreciation

I ran across a post in the Alabama Soldiers’ Angels forums from Lisa regarding the upcoming Armed Forces Day (May 17th). Gathering of Eagles is planning to set aside that day to “visit as many recruiter offices as we can and to pay some type of tribute to them,” calling it Operation Recruiter Appreciation.

An excellent idea! Recruiting is a tough and sometimes thankless job and we want to make sure that these hardworking men and women know that they are appreciated!

If you are interested in helping, contact Lisa at hottie0427 @ hotmail.com (remove the spaces before emailing).

To find your local recruiting offices, go to:
www.todaysmilitary.com/contact-a-recruiter

I plan on hitting a couple recruiters’ offices around the Birmingham metro area Friday, May 16th. Will you join me in thanking our recruiters for their service to our country?

(x-posted to my personal blog)

Seen in the SA forums

I’ve been running across several really good threads in the Soldiers’ Angels forums, and thought I’d share a few of them here!

• Kids Corner – Spotted in Angel Boot Camp
• Can my spouse help me? – Spotted in Angel Boot Camp
• Hand-written or typed? – Spotted in Questions
• Vets on a Mission Run to the Wall 2008 – Spotted in General
• Helpful military links – Spotted in Military Family Support
• Flat rate boxes – Spotted in Questions
• National Remember Our Troops Campaign – Spotted in Events & Fundraising
• Free Lawn Care for Families of Deployed Soldiers – Spotted in Military Family Support
• Where we can Vote on Monday May 5th – Spotted in General

Go Patti, GO!

Courtesy of the Soldiers’ Angels newsletter:

LOS ANGELES, April 30 /PRNewswire/ — Teleflora, the world’s leading floral wire service, and NBC today revealed the 15 semi-finalists in the nationwide search for America’s Favorite Mom. The inspirational stories of the three top moms in each of the five categories — military moms, working moms, single moms, “Non-mom” moms and “Chairman of Everything” moms — will be featured on NBC’s “Today” show May 5 through May 9 during the 9 o’clock hour. Each day, America will vote on who will continue into the final round. The winning mom will be crowned during the primetime television special, “Teleflora presents America’s Favorite Mom,” airing on Mother’s Day Sunday, May 11 at 7 p.m. EDT.

Teleflora’s 15 “America’s Favorite Mom” semi-finalists include:

Patti Patton-Bader (Pasadena, CA): Patton-Bader is a mother who founded Soldiers Angels Network, an organization that sends care packages to over 200,000 troops overseas

…

Viewers can tune-in to the “Today” show, the week of May 5 to learn more about these semi-finalists and vote for their favorite mom each day on http://www.nbc.com/. A different category will be highlighted every day: military moms, Monday, May 5 9 AM. You may only vote for one mother from one catagory on the day they are featured.

…

The 15 semi-finalists were selected from more than 15,000 online nominations collected at AmericasFavoriteMom.com. A panel of experts that included Stacy Morrison, editor-in-chief of Redbook Magazine, Sally Lee, editor-in-chief of Parents Magazine, and Sabrina Weill, Editor-in-Chief of Momlogic.com, helped to narrow the pool. Semi-finalists were notified when a local Teleflora florist personally delivered the specially-designed America’s Favorite Mom bouquet, the true centerpiece of Teleflora’s America’s Favorite Mom search, to each of their homes.

“We were just in awe of the thousands of amazing moms nominated on AmericasFavoriteMom.com — there were so many inspirational and heartfelt submissions,” said Lynda Resnick, chairman, Teleflora. “Now it’s time for America to decide who among these incredible mothers should be crowned ‘America’s Favorite Mom’.”

“At REDBOOK we know there is no one way to be a mom, since being a mom is just an expression of who you are as a woman,” said Stacy Morrison, editor-in-chief, Redbook Magazine. “The amazing array of nominees for America’s Favorite Mom demonstrates this in the most inspiring way. From fitness mom to working mom to military mom, these women remind us that the best way to have a life you love is to be exactly who you are.”

“This is one inspiring group of moms,” said Sally Lee, editor-in-chief, Parents Magazine. “They have such different life experiences, but they are all truly selfless in their commitment to raising happy, healthy children. They have made sacrifices and weathered challenges, but each one of these moms has an amazing attitude. They all deserve the title of ‘America’s Favorite Mom’!”

Momlogic.com editor-in-chief Sabrina Weill says, “What strikes me most about these amazing moms is not just one particular shining moment, but the everyday acts of motherhood, big and small, that impact their families and the children around them in such a powerful way. It’s a bit of ‘momlogic’ actually: You don’t have to be ‘SuperMom’ to be a truly heroic mother.”

Viewers can tune-in to the “Today” show, the week of May 5 to learn more about these semi-finalists and vote for their favorite mom each day on http://www.nbc.com/. A different category will be highlighted every day: military moms, Monday, May 5; working moms, Tuesday, May 6; single moms, Wednesday, May 7; “non-mom” moms, Thursday, May 8; and “chairman of everything” moms, Friday, May 9. Donny and Marie Osmond will appear on the May 5 show to kick-off the competition.

The five mothers with the greatest percentage of votes will take part in “Teleflora presents America’s Favorite Mom,” an NBC prime-time television event hosted by Donny and Marie Osmond. The one-hour show will feature an exclusive duet by the celebrity siblings and a special performance by Sony/Epic artists The D.E.Y. performing their new single “She Said,” a heartfelt ode to mothers. Editor-in-Chief of Redbook Magazine Stacy Morrison, who was a print sponsor of the nationwide search, will also make a guest appearance in the show.

The program will include a special tribute to 100 year old Opal Trundle, who was born on the first Mother’s Day, May 11, 1908. Opal raised six children during the great depression and has 96 grandchildren. In addition, there will be special cameo appearances by Christina Aguilera, Tony Hawk, Alicia Keys, Hulk Hogan, Naomi Judd, Amy Poehler and more throughout the broadcast. At the end of the special, the Osmonds will crown one lucky winner, “America’s Favorite Mom.”

Teleflora will present the grand prize winner with $250,000, an America’s Favorite Mom diamond encrusted pendant and a year’s worth of Teleflora flower arrangements. The winning mom will also receive a REDBOOK “Love Your Life” all-expense paid trip to New York City, including a beauty makeover and spa treatment, courtesy of Redbook Magazine, a family vacation package to St. Lucia, courtesy of Coconut Bay and all-new General Electric kitchen and laundry appliances. Teleflora will present the four runners-up with $25,000, a gold pendant, a year’s worth of Teleflora flower arrangements and a General Electric washer and dryer.

“Moms all over can relate to the hard work and sacrifices that go into raising a family, and we want to tell their stories through this television tribute to moms,” said Doug Vaughan, senior vice president, special programs and alternative development, NBC Entertainment. “Through uplifting stories and great performances, this special is bound to tug at your heart strings.”