I am writing my annual Thanksgiving column the week before Thanksgiving, and it’s all about Christmas.
Last year the CEO class came up with the idea of “Light the Park” for Christmas. It was a huge success with hundreds of cars passing through the Luverne City Park enjoying the lighted Christmas displays. The CEO class has moved on to other projects this year.
So as not to let the “Light the Park” project go dark for Christmas, local businesses have taken on the project now known as “Love the Light” with the idea of hopefully making the light displays an annual tradition.
Some 19 businesses have signed up to put up displays, and the city of Luverne will graciously supply the power.
The Star Herald is one of those businesses that will be participating in this year’s “Love the Light” for Christmas. The lights will be on from Dec. 8 through Jan. 5.
The goal of the Star Herald display is to brighten the holiday season for deployed military men and women serving our country around the world. Our mission is to collect as many greeting cards as possible from the great folks of Rock County and get them in the hands of our soldiers, airmen and women, sailors and marines.
Once the displays are up, you can drive through the park and enjoy all the lights. As you drive by the Star Herald display, you can drop your card off in the collection box. We’ll collect the cards each week and send them off to MILITARY MISSIONS, and they will put the cards in care packages. They send out about 8,000 care packages a year so they need about 80,000 cards.
If you have a family member serving in the military that you would like us to send cards to, please send us their name and address and we’ll make sure those cards get mailed directly from here. There are just a couple of rules you need to follow. Do not put the card in an envelope. Do not use glitter. If the glitter gets on the uniforms, that can be a problem.
Here are a few card writing tips.
You may use greeting cards, or better yet, make one of your own.
Start your card with Dear Service Member or Dear Friend.
Be positive and upbeat. Be thankful. Feel free to share a little information about yourself like hobbies, pets, and what state you’re from.
Avoid political statements, avoid lengthy religious discussions, but by all means let them know you are praying for them. Don’t date your card because they will be sent out all year long.
Like I said earlier, this is my Thanksgiving column — about Christmas. However, if you help us out with hundreds of cards to send to our service personnel, I will truly be thankful.