FRIDAY, January 3, 2014
TEMPLE DAILY TELEGRAM / 1
Operation Winter Wonderland Brings Joy to Military Families By: Susan Howe, Friends of the Temple Public Library
A cold winter day turned into a warm cheerful kickoff of the holiday season for Operation Winter Wonderland, a special event for military families.
JAN•2014
EVENTS CALENDAR
Holidays can be especially hard when deployment prevents families being together during the Christmas season. A new initiative of the Temple Chamber of Commerce, Operation Winter Wonderland, was designed to show that the Central Texas community supports and appreciates sacrifices made by the family members of deployed soldiers. With the help of Family Readiness Support Assistants at the 13th ESC, First Med Brigade and the Texas Army National Guard, the Temple Chamber of Commerce extended invitations to mom/kiddos or dad/kiddos. Chamber members quickly jumped at the opportunity to volunteer time and resources to make it a special day. Dozens of kiddos ranging from babies in strollers to young teenagers and their moms/dads came to the Dec. 8 event at American Legion Post 133. After the official lighting of the Christmas tree, the youngsters rotated through five craft stations where they made a sock snowman, along with reindeer, stick
snowmen, “glitter” soldiers and angel ornaments. Markers, stickers and paper were available to make personalized Christmas cards. Everyone enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate. Dressed as an elf, Chamber President Rod Henry read “Polar Express” and then the kids, parents, and volunteers rang little jingle bells to welcome Santa. The program closed with Brigadier General Clark W. LeMasters, Jr., Commanding General of the 13th Sustainment Command, the Fort Hood partner unit to the City of Temple, reading “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Each child left with a big smile, a bag filled with their handmade crafts, and a toy of their choice. Special recognition goes to John Potts and American Legion Post 133 for donating the use of their facility, financial support and helping hands and to Santa Claus for making a special appearance. The holiday event would not have been possible without the generous contributions by Sam's Club, the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, Temple Independent School District, Family Readiness Support, Johnson Brothers Ford Lincoln and The David Nix Agency-Nationwide Insurance and all the volunteers who helped bring smiles and joy to the kids and parents during the holiday season. Operation Winter Wonderland is expected to expand and become an annual event. For more information or details on how you can contribute to this initiative, contact Rod Henry, Temple Chamber of Commerce President at (254) 773-2105.
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