Home - Archive Index - 2006 Archives - 2005 Christmas Report Operation Kids Smile 2005 Story and photos by VWB Chuck Brockway For the past several years St. John's Lodge has sought out families of soldiers that are in need of assistance at Christmas. We have worked through the (CSM) Command Sergeant Major's to seek out these families, obtain enough information that we can provide them with their needs. This year we helped 7 families and 17 children of the 555th Engineering Brigade. The ages ranged from 18 months to 16 years old. We provided every family with a complete Christmas dinner, plus clothing and toys for the each child. The families are overwhelmed with emotion, several were nearly speechless. The children are beaming with excitement and joy as the photos show. There is a great deal of prior planning that goes into an event like this. First, there is the coordination with the CSM to get the information on the families, i.e., ages, sizes, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Coordination must be made directly with each family to set a time for Santa Claus' visit. The team gathered at my home for coffee and organizing. Then the team loaded into the motor home to allow everyone to get through Fort Lewis gate security and the motor home allowed room for transporting all the gifts as well. The morning was spent purchasing food, clothing and toys. We assembled all of these items and tagged them for delivery and placed a St. John's brochure in every box. We paused for a snack, met with CSM Matt Barnes who joined, and we set out to make deliveries. Our own Santa Claus clearly had the most fun and the elves all enjoyed it as well. The children are really special... the looks and smiles tell it all!! Christmas is a special time and the enjoyment we are able to bring to those families, that may not have been so bright prior to our deliveries, is truly amazing. Every elf was moved by the experience, and Santa is still... Ho, Ho, Ho-ing... It was unanimously agreed at our pizza dinner back at my home that, we clearly made a difference for these military families. We thank St. John's Lodge and gifts from several of the Brethren for making this event possible. home Copyrite ©2005 - St. John's Lodge No. 9 F&AM of Washington - All Rights Reserved