Dear :
Wow! Can you believe that 2009 is almost over. Here is a quick review of what A Rose of Thanks did in 2009 to make a difference for our troops.
Some special people I forgot to thank last month Barbara Heim, ROSE ART, and you for continuing to read these newsletters and if you have any suggestions on how to improve them please let me know
Did the Fan Zone at the Mineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte got about 200 cards and met some amazing people from WVU & UNC
Assisted Starbucks @ Carolina Mall distribute over 200 pounds of coffee to our troops.
Sent out 50 of our Peach Rose Business Cards to each of our Governors and both Presidents in January.. We Got 8 letters back! The 1st card we got back was from Governor Sarah Palin from Alaska.
February it happened.. We got one of our cards back!! In the Fall of 08 I started sending over blank cards to the troops along with Crayons, Markers, and Colored Pencils (Thanks Rose Art) to the troops so they can write home to thier friends and family! 2 years and one day after we sent out our 1st card we got one back postmarked 15 Feb 09.
March: I was listening to ESPN Radio Freddie Coleman's show and mentioned that Mack Brown and 5 other coaches were going to visit the troops on the Under Armour Coaches tour So I went to the school websites and sent each of the some of our business cards and Mack Brown of the Texas Longhorns was the only one to contact us. I also sent some out to the CEO CFO and VP of HR of Under Armour and with in two weeks one of them joined our group on Facebook!
We customized the business card to include Hook'em Horns and 3 of the UT websites and sent him 2,000 directly from VistaPrint. Got 2 back autographed and a card thanking us!
Also was contacted by the Vans Warped tour about participating in their Non profit Area.
The rest of the year has been a blur
May: had our Wall at the mall out at Carolina Mall got over 750 cards
July: Did VA Beach & Charlotte Shows on the Vans Warped tour got over 250 card and had a person we met at the VA Beach Show contact us about being involved in her community service project for school! Sent her 300 cards!
August: The POWER of TWITTER:
http://www.twitter.com/aroseofthanks I was tweeting about the Van Warped tour Experience and had two people in CA volunteer to do the last two shows on the Tour in CA. Thanks Jen and Shelly
Gave myself a Birthday Present and got over 400 cards done in 2 days at Concord Mills Mall
September did the Eucharisitic Convention here in Charlotte
400 cards in two days
October: Went out to San Antonio TX to have fans of ND and WSU sign cards for our troops... Valero Alamo Bowl sponsored the game and via twitter, had a guy (Drew Thanks what a day) drive in from New Mexico to volunteer
November Sent 600 cards out to Matt Bugg and the Students at Ben Franklin Elementary School in La Quinta CA
Gave Gov. Palin's daughter (Piper) some of our cards & crayons so she could sign and color them. Dropped off 300 cards at the USO of NC at Ft Bragg.
Customized the business card again and sent 1000 to Dallas so Gov. Palin could take them to Ft Hood and pass them out to our men and women serving our great country.
Had our Chick Fil A Card day on Veterans Day!!! at the Concord Commons
December
A Rose of Thanks is growing up!!!
Cat and Suzanne will be assiting us going forward with event planning and public relations!
Have customized the business card again to include the meaning of the Peach Rose on the Cover.
Am doing the Christmas Show at the Xtreme Ice Center on Saturday the 12th!
Have 2,000 cards for the USO of NC in Charlotte for their Exodus.
Have been invited to participate in the Pep rally of the Independence Bowl on the 27th of Dec in Shreveport, LA!! Texas A&M Aggies Vs Georgia Bulldogs
Sent out over 10,000 this yr and since Valentines Day of 07 we have sent out over 20,000. This one Simple idea has touched over 40,000 lives since we started!! Unbelievable!
Thank you to everyone who has signed a card, gave me a person to contact, or send cards to.
