thedrifter
04-21-09, 07:25 AM
Everyday Heroes -- Saginaw County Marines
Local battalion comes through at Christmas
By Rebecca Trylch
SAGINAW COUNTY (WJRT) -- (04/20/09)--When you think of a Marine, you likely picture the men and women who are serving overseas in places like Iraq or Afghanistan.
But this past Christmas, some Marines in Saginaw County had a very important mission much closer to home -- one they had to work especially hard at to accomplish.
"To sum it up in one word, pride is what it means to be a marine," said Staff Sgt. William Stellmach.
And Marines take pride in everything they do, whether it's on the front lines fighting for our freedom or in their own backyard.
"You put on your uniform that day, you go to work," Stellmach said. "If work means you're going to help a family that needs toys, well that's your task at hand. You accomplish your task."
This past Christmas, the men and women of Bravo Company, First Battalion of the 24th Marines, certainly had a tough task.
"The success of our campaign, our individual campaign for this community, relies on the community itself," Stellmach said.
And 2008 was the toughest Christmas in recent memory for the Saginaw community.
With unemployment in double digits, parents without jobs had to make tough choices: pay their bills and feed their family or put a present under the Christmas tree.
That's why more families than the year before turned to Toys for Tots.
"The tougher the job, the harder we work. We don't shy away from it," Stellmach said.
The Marines set out to gather 12,000 toys.
"We had to adjust the program a little bit. Years past we may have given out three or four toys per family, per child," Stellmach said. "This year we adjusted it to two toys."
But even that seemed to be a tall order. So the Marines stepped up their efforts, aided by the Saginaw community.
More businesses than ever before followed the Frankenmuth McDonald's lead and hosted a Toys for Tots fundraiser, or simply put out a collection box.
"Having more boxes out is only half of it," said First Sgt. Gregory Keeler. "People actually have to put toys in the boxes."
For a while, it seemed the only way the boxes were getting filled was when the periodic shipments arrived from the national Toys for Tots Foundation.
But somehow, some way, when distribution day arrived, no one was disappointed.
"Mission is accomplished," Stellmach said. "I would say every year is successful as long as there's a present under the tree."
Thousands of Saginaw County kids woke up Christmas morning not knowing how tough a year it had been for their family or the Marines behind Toys for Tots.
And for that reason alone, the men and women of the battalion say the 2008 Toys for Tots campaign was more meaningful than most can imagine.
"It's a bonus for enlisting into the Marine Corps, in which I never knew it was coming to me," Stellmach said.
The Saginaw County Red Cross will honor the Marines and all of the other "Everyday Heroes" at a banquet later this week.
Video
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6770995&rss=rss-wjrt-article-6770995
Ellie
Local battalion comes through at Christmas
By Rebecca Trylch
SAGINAW COUNTY (WJRT) -- (04/20/09)--When you think of a Marine, you likely picture the men and women who are serving overseas in places like Iraq or Afghanistan.
But this past Christmas, some Marines in Saginaw County had a very important mission much closer to home -- one they had to work especially hard at to accomplish.
"To sum it up in one word, pride is what it means to be a marine," said Staff Sgt. William Stellmach.
And Marines take pride in everything they do, whether it's on the front lines fighting for our freedom or in their own backyard.
"You put on your uniform that day, you go to work," Stellmach said. "If work means you're going to help a family that needs toys, well that's your task at hand. You accomplish your task."
This past Christmas, the men and women of Bravo Company, First Battalion of the 24th Marines, certainly had a tough task.
"The success of our campaign, our individual campaign for this community, relies on the community itself," Stellmach said.
And 2008 was the toughest Christmas in recent memory for the Saginaw community.
With unemployment in double digits, parents without jobs had to make tough choices: pay their bills and feed their family or put a present under the Christmas tree.
That's why more families than the year before turned to Toys for Tots.
"The tougher the job, the harder we work. We don't shy away from it," Stellmach said.
The Marines set out to gather 12,000 toys.
"We had to adjust the program a little bit. Years past we may have given out three or four toys per family, per child," Stellmach said. "This year we adjusted it to two toys."
But even that seemed to be a tall order. So the Marines stepped up their efforts, aided by the Saginaw community.
More businesses than ever before followed the Frankenmuth McDonald's lead and hosted a Toys for Tots fundraiser, or simply put out a collection box.
"Having more boxes out is only half of it," said First Sgt. Gregory Keeler. "People actually have to put toys in the boxes."
For a while, it seemed the only way the boxes were getting filled was when the periodic shipments arrived from the national Toys for Tots Foundation.
But somehow, some way, when distribution day arrived, no one was disappointed.
"Mission is accomplished," Stellmach said. "I would say every year is successful as long as there's a present under the tree."
Thousands of Saginaw County kids woke up Christmas morning not knowing how tough a year it had been for their family or the Marines behind Toys for Tots.
And for that reason alone, the men and women of the battalion say the 2008 Toys for Tots campaign was more meaningful than most can imagine.
"It's a bonus for enlisting into the Marine Corps, in which I never knew it was coming to me," Stellmach said.
The Saginaw County Red Cross will honor the Marines and all of the other "Everyday Heroes" at a banquet later this week.
Video
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=news/local&id=6770995&rss=rss-wjrt-article-6770995
Ellie