My New Year's resolution - Pimp once per month. I let it get away from me last year during the move, but "Pimp Your Stuff" is back by popular demand. Click here to read the rules and find out how to pimp your stuff in February's edition. Lots of stuff in this edition, so grab your favorite beverage and dive in.
And here we go:
I'm a casting producer for a new documentary series coming soon to ABC. The series, which is untitled at this time, will focus on stories of separation .... whether it be through adoption, geographical location, war times, or some other means.
Really, we are looking for stories of all sorts that involve the separation of family or friends, where there is a desire for one or more person(s) to re-connect with the person(s) they have lost track of.
ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND YOUR FAMILY? LOCATE A WAR BUDDY OR OTHER FRIEND?
SHARE YOUR STORY ON NEW TV SHOW FROM THE CREATORS OF "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" AND "SECRET MILLIONAIRE."Were you adopted? Did you make the difficult decision to give a child up for adoption? Have you been searching for a parent, child, or sibling and exhausted your resources? Did you lose track of someone you fought alongside with? If so, award-winning documentary producers want to hear about your experiences for a new network television program - and help.
The show will explore the profound issues involved when families separate and the lengths some go to reunite, find answers, and discover lost family. Are you searching for a loved one? Do you know someone who is? If you or someone you know is seeking answers, please consider sharing your story with millions who might benefit. We can make a difference. Contact missingfamily@gmail.com to share your story!
From Mr. Gordon:
Was wondering if you could help me, saw you on milblogging and that you were here. Could you please pass along this site www.honorandremember.org to all your contacts.
Anna emailed me before the holidays so I missed her holiday giveaway, but I'm telling you, not since this have I seen things that look soooooo good. See for yourself.
This sounds interesting. I'm going to watch....
Hi Andi - My name is M**** and I work with National Geographic Channel to promote the programs online. I came upon your writings while researching folks who might be interested in a couple of our upcoming programs, On Board Air Force One and On Board Marine One. I wanted to send you some information to see if these programs might be of interest to you and your readers at SpouseBUZZ:
On Board Air Force One & On Board Marine One
Sunday, January 25 at 8/9pm ET/PT
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/on-board/all/Overview
As the nation prepares for the historic inauguration on January 20, 2009, the Presidential Airlift Group (PAG) also prepares for the momentous transition. In a single day, one man will take the reins as U.S. president for the first time, while another bids his final farewell. And National Geographic Channel (NGC) will be there, with access to President-elect Barack Obama's first flight and President George W. Bush's last official flight in the world premiere film On Board Air Force One, premiering on Sunday, January 25, at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Then, at 9 p.m. ET/PT the same night, we'll take flight with On Board Marine One for an in-depth look at the presidential helicopter fleet.
Also, please visit our official site for the program to:
View more photos and videos;
Go on board Air Force One through our interactive feature: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/on-board/all/Overview#tab-interactive, and;
Download a paper model of the Air Force One: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/on-board/all/Overview/22#tab-paper-airplane
From Lawrence:
Hello Andi, I've discovered this great business opportunity and you, being a Military spouse, I'm certain that you'll see, as I have, how this business and it's products can benefit other Military personnel and their spouses at home in the US and Europe and in many other countries. Take a look, tell me what you think. www.5linx.net.
From Ann:
Hi Andi, I work for a non-profit, faith-based organization called Just Moved! We offer resources and emotional support for women around the world who are coping with a move. More and more military spouses are turning to us for emotional support and are gathering in groups to use our resources.To learn more about what we do, please visit our website at www.justmoved.org.
Air Force Wife Kathy Rodgers writes to tell me of her book, The Final Salute.Congrats, Kathy.
Free is good! I checked the AAFES site this morning and it's still available via free download. You can find the icon on the home page. From Richard at TriWest came this info:
Hi Andi,
CD for the Troops II should be a big hit for SpouseBUZZ - it's a free CD with top artists donating their songs to say thanks to military families serving the nation. Your readers can download it for free with a link from the SpouseBUZZ site.
Beginning today, the CD "For The Troops II," including Grammy Award winners/nominees and multi-platinum selling recording artists Trace Adkins, Daughtry, Josh Groban and Five For Fighting, is available for free at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) Web site.
"I'm excited that the CD 'For the Troops' project is back with a new roster of fantastic artists and great songs," said John Ondrasik who performs under the pseudonym Five For Fighting and spearheaded the CD's development. "After the response from last year's effort, creating a sequel was a no-brainer. The CD 'For the Troops II' has a bit more rock and a few surprises, but at its core is a thank you to those whose sacrifice secures our freedom and that of our children."
U.S. active duty service members and veterans worldwide with a valid military ID can download the album at no charge at www.aafes.com. Another 200,000 hard copies of the CD will be arriving courtesy of TriWest Healthcare Alliance at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, America Supports You events, USO Centers, Fisher Houses, and other locations across the nation and overseas.
From Miss Ladybug:
Not sure how many of you follow Fire & Ice, the blog of combat artist CWO2 Michael D. Fay, but he's got a new post up linking to online catalog of his and Sgt. Kristopher Battles' exhibit at the Navy Museum. Link is here.
Meet some "Great Americans." You can even upload your own video. Disregard the holiday mention (I'm behind, as I said at the top). The site is not holiday focused.
Hi Andi-
I thought SpouseBuzz would be interested in the 'thank you' effort being put forth by GreatAmericans.com this holiday season. Celebrity messages of thanks are available to forward to Great Americans in uniform at http://www.greatamericans.com/blog/posts/12091. This is made possible through the support and participation of music artists including John Ondrasik, singer/songwriter and founder of the band Five for Fighting and Kim Cameron, lead singer of the Side FX Band, whose personalized video messages will be available at GreatAmericans.com.
I hope you'll take a moment to visit the site and share with your audience so they can thank the men and women in uniform this holiday season, especially their brave spouses!
Kevin writes in to raise awareness of a great program.
I was wondering if you could help me out a little. I am helping my friend gain awareness for the Little Caesar's Veterans Program that helps military men and women successfully transition to civilian life, as well as create opportunities for those who seek new careers.
Currently the story is being picked up by a lot of mainstream media outlets but I personally think that blogs can help get the story out there to the people we really want to reach, people serving in the Armed Forces, Veterans, and their families. I feel that your blog reaches those types of people so I am coming to you asking for help.
Our goal is to spread awareness of this program as well as to hopefully get other corporations setting up programs of their own.
Below is a link to the program page that has pictures, video, and other multimedia and press you can use. Also I included a story about the first store owner and some information about the program that was being used in messages to traditional media.
More information about the program here.
An airman starts a business for military families.
I am an active duty AF member. I started Operation Classifieds as a way for our military families to help each other out all around the world. It is a new free classifieds site for our military families, but it allows us to help each other in our communities vs. just anyone. I think it is important to take care of each other in our unique military family and this can be a great way in which to do so.
It is free for our military of course and offers a great service especially for those relocating and trying to either downsize or set-up home. I built it so that we can have one site that follows us no matter where we are assigned in the world. You just find your military community and off you go. No more jumping around to different sites, no more paying ebay or some other classifieds site, and it is all about our military family. You can look at other military communities of course from the same site...maybe a look ahead to your next assignment, or even to buy or sell.
Nice stuff....
Dear Andi,
The American Red Cross teamed up with Pitney Bowes to send holiday cards to members of the military and their families this holiday season. As a virtual component of the Holiday Mail for Heroes program, we invited the public to send holiday greetings to service members using an online Group Card. In addition to processing over 1.4 million paper cards, we are happy to announce that the online card received over 3,700 signatures from thoughtful individuals all over the country.
We thought that you and your readers might be interested in viewing the signatures: http://www.groupcard.com/c/TeqOvxYOleS.
Communities!
Hey Andi- I you might be interested in a new PSA campaign that IAVA in partnership with the Ad Council launched last week week targeted toward veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because readjustment challenges of combat stress can compound the other challenges servicemen and women face when they return to civilian life and because sometimes talking to another veteran is the best way of addressing these challenges, IAVA has launched a social network, like facebook or myspace, but exclusive to veterans.
In support of this new site, the advertising campaign encourages veterans to join this online community (the first and only of its kind) to help them connect to each other. Like with military blogs, the social networking site provides a place to talk about an experience that is so unique.
Veterans can go to CommunityofVeterans to join.
A second site that will launch later this month seeks to support another unique population (one that we both understand well-in my personal life I'm a proud sister of a Marine veteran of the war in Iraq---and clearly, to have a blog like SpouseBUZZ you understand the importance of military families connecting to each other) . The site is called Support Your Vet and will be a resource for family and friends to learn more about how to talk to the veteran in their life about the readjustment challenges he or she may be facing, as well as get information about helpful resources.
