The third year of the Canadian Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign is in the books!

February 27/2009

This page updated July/28/2009

The 3rd annual Hero To Hero Team Canada Packout was held in London, Ontario at London Fire Department Headquarters on February 27, 2009 and was a huge success, with 2000 shirts & 450 hats boxed up and readied for shipment to our deployed Canadian troops.

We thank Fire Chief John Kobarda and Association President Jim Holmes for their support. We are also grateful that Police Chief Murray Faulkner could join us in support of our troops.

Many of you are probably aware by now that we hit a “Major” roadblock this year regarding the shipping of our First Responder shirts to Canadian troops deployed around the world.

I’m pleased to be able let you know that our difficulties have been successfully ironed out and our First Responder shirts are once again being shipped to our troops with the assistance of the Department of National Defence. Due to an individual’s interpretation of the new rules governing the shipment of packages to deployed CF personnel, we required a little time to sort things out.

After appealing our case to Laurie Hawn, M.P for Edmonton Centre, who is also the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defense Peter McKay, our shirts will once again be shipped to Canadian troops around the world with the support of the Canadian Forces. Our local M.P. Pat Davidson (Sarnia/Lambton) and her staff were also a driving force in helping us sort out this unfortunate situation.

Hero To Hero Team Canada has now been granted special permission by Department of National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa, to ship our shirts in bulk to troops in Afghanistan and elswhere in the world, including ships deployed at sea. This is a privilege not granted to many groups and we are very fortunate and grateful for this opportunity.

In the future we will continue to collect shirts from first reponders all year round with the cutoff date remaing February 14th. each year. After this date troops can apply to receive shirts for their complete unit/platoon/crew etc.. Shirts will be shipped to troops deployed anywhere in the world on a first come first served basis until they are all gone. Troops requesting shirts must be remaining in theatre for at least 3 months to allow time for shipments to reach them. It takes 3-4 weeks for shipments to reach troops and we will be spacing shipments out so as not to overload the supply system.

We also need to avoid peak times such as when troops are rotating in and out of theatre.

For 2 weeks after our shipments were refused i spent virtually every waking minute dealing with this shipping issue. At times I would find myself talking on two phones at the same time while I sat and watched e-mails constantly popping onto my computer screen. I could have used a couple secretaries just to deal with all the e-mails and phone calls of support we received from all around the world. Hundreds of people offered their support and assistance to ensure that Hero To Hero Team Canada could continue the work of supporting our troops.

There were many people working behind the scenes in the military community and politically to ensure the survival of Hero To Hero Team Canada. To everyone, including the troops, the families of our troops, first responders, the press (especially Joe Matyas from the London free Press), friends and strangers alike, and the many politicians at every level of Government who provided assistance, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for showing us just how important you think the Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign is to the morale and welfare of our Canadian troops who are putting their lives on the line every day for us.

Meet some of London's first responders who made the Packout a success

By the way, the reason we held the Packout in London this year instead of Sarnia where it is traditionally held, was so we could pay tribute to London's first responders who kicked it up a notch this year.

Spearheaded by Reed Holland of London Police Service, eight emergency services joined together to create the following t-shirt with the logos of all their respective departments represented.

These agencies combined to sell 1000 of these t-shirts! The deal was that personnel could buy two t-shirts but only keep one. The other was sent to a deployed troop. 500 of these shirts will reach troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and aboard the HMCS Winnipeg. Nice job London!

Another department to go above and beyond this year was the York Regional Police Dept. They donated 400 brand new shirts with their logo and a message for our troops.

These shirts were originally to be delivered to the Packout by York Regional Police Officer and 400 Squadron Tac/Hel Reservist Steve Seabrooke in a Griffon Helicopter from Base Borden.

Steve has headed up the Hero To Hero campaign within the York Regional Police Department. He was to fly into London bringing with him the Chief of York Regional Police and Richmond Hill City Councillor Lynn Foster to present the shirts. Lynn has been instumental in promoting participation in the Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign in her community.

Unfortunately, bad weather grounded the helo and our VIP guests were unable to attend. Fortunately Steve had arranged to have the 400 shirts shipped to London Fire Dept. Headquarters before the Packout just in case they were unable to fly that day. Those 400 shirts will no doubt be welcomed by the troops in the desert.

First Responders from Kamloops, British Columbia to Kennebecasis Valley, New Brunswick and everywhere inbetween participated in the campaign this year.

During the National Tour this past June (2008) we visited first responders in Sarnia, Point Edward, London, Toronto, Hamilton & Niagara Falls. We also had the opportunity to speak at the Ontario Professional Firefighters convention held in Collingwood, Ontario where we spoke to delegates from every OPFFA represented dept. in the province. Special thanks go to Rayanne Dubkov and Paul Beames for arranging this. We returned home from the tour with over 600 t-shirts and hats.

It would be impossible for me to mention every Dept. here so I’ll say thanks to one and all and invite you to visit our photo site to see all the departments who participated this year. We photographed as many different logos from as many depts. as possible to show you who has participated this year.

Whether your department donates one shirt or five hundred, every shirt is greatly appreciated and needed.

I want to thank Liz Jackson, the Founder & Director of HeroToHero.US for allowing us to participate in this program she started nearly 6 years ago in Tacoma, Washington. The support she has provided to get the Canadian side of the program up and running is greatly appreciated.

I’d like to leave you with the following picture, which is of my favourite shirt donated this year. It came from our good friend Leila Paugh who is a Paramedic in Niagara Falls. I think it sums up how we feel about our troops. If you’re in “The Falls” during the summer and you see a flourescent blur go by you on a bicycle carrying 40 lbs. of medical equipment…it’s Leila. Catch her if you can and say "Hey!"

You can check out the rest of the photos of the Packout on the Hero To Hero Team Canada photo galleries.

On behalf of Liz Jackson and myself we wish every troop a safe tour and we thank all our Canadian and U.S. first responders for their continuing support of our troops through the Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign.

Sincerely,

Kevin McHarg

Hero To Hero Team Canada

**A footnote from Liz ...

I want to personally thank each and every one of you for all you have done and continue to do for your brave troops so far from home. So many more times than I could count, we have been told firsthand what these shirts mean. As I post this to the site for Kevin, I've just returned from a FOOLS (Fraternal Order of Leatherheads) meeting where a young firefighter told of receiving one of these shirts during his deployment to Iraq. He spoke from his heart, and there was no doubt to any of us listening that we are doing the right thing, for the right people, for the right reason.

Kevin, I would also like to publicly commend you for the tireless days and nights you have endured to make this a reality in Canada. I wish I could have been there as you jumped through some major hurdles this past week, but my friend, you had a nation behind you. You held true to our values and never lowered the bar ... You didn't need me, you had it handled - as I knew you would!

For all of you who stepped up to get those shirts out to their intended destination - You are awesome! Most of you, I do not know, but I would be honored to shake your hands personally ... More likely, I would give you each a huge hug. I do know Reed Holland, and a number of the London Firefighters, and they are gonna get really big hugs for all of the support they keep giving us.

You are all wonderful, and as we have all pledged, you have "Not forgotten".

I am so proud of how you have all come together for your troops, and am honored by all you do. Salute, and much love to you all!