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***image1***The Army and Air Force Hometown News Service from San Antonio is coming to the KMC starting Thursday for those who can’t be “home for the holidays.”
They will be here for five days at different locations taping Home-town News Holiday Greetings to send to relatives in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Active duty, government civilians, retirees, Department of Defense Dependent School teachers and family members stationed in the KMC and surrounding areas are eligible to send holiday greetings.
“These greetings give people here a great opportunity to send a little love back to their families in the States,” said Erin A. Zagursky, the 435th Air Base Wing’s media relations chief. “It’s like you are actually standing in your family’s living room, telling them you love them.
“I know my mom and dad are going to be thrilled when they see me waving to them from Germany,” said Ms. Zagursky.
For Spc. Albert Fairconeture and his family, it was a chance to let their families in Detroit and Passchristian, Miss., see that they were doing okay in their first assignment overseas.
“They were watching everyday to see our greeting,” said Specialist Fairconeture, a technician with “B” Company, 47th Forward Support Battalion, Baumholder. “It was something exciting for them to tell other family members and friends that they saw us on TV and that they got a greeting from us overseas.”
What to wear
Active-duty members must be in uniform. Civilians should be in appropriate attire.
What to bring
Participants should bring address books because the more information people can provide to the hometown news crew the better the chance the greeting will air. They will need information like names, addresses including zip codes and phone numbers.
What to say
Participants need to say five things in the greeting: Who they are, where they are, who the greeting is going to, where they are and some sort of holiday greeting.
If the military member is deployed, that needs to be stated. A civilian family member, a husband or wife, can make a greeting if the military family member is deployed, TDY or in the hospital, but must mention the deployment.
How many?
There is not a limit on how many greetings one family can send to the States as long as they live in different zip codes. However, the greetings must be sent to relatives. By the hometown news definition, a relative is by law and by blood. Fiancés are not relatives.
The process
When customers come to do the holiday greeting tapings, they will fill out a form for every greeting. A member of the crew will verify the information and give a small briefing.
On their turn, one of the crewmembers will escort the customers to the camera, give them another brief and set up the microphone. The camera operator lines them up and records the greeting.
For more information on the Ramstein and Sembach locations, call Ms. Zagursky at 480-2458. For the Vogelweh locations, call Mike Bowers at 489-7161.
Holiday Greeting KMC locations
Ramstein Base Exchange 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Oct. 1. No appointment required.
Vogelweh Commissary 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Oct. 2. For an appointment, call the 415th Base Support Battalion’s Public Affairs Office at 489-7161.
Vogelweh PowerZone 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 4. For an appointment call 489-7161.
Sembach Annex 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 5, next to the F-84 static display. The rain location will be at the chapel balcony. No appointment required.
