by Abbygail Pitstick, 2017-18 National Hereford Queen, South Solon, Ohio

As the National Hereford Queen, I am required to have a service project that will be conducted during the Junior National Hereford Expo. This year the JNHE will be held in Grand Island, Nebraska during the 1st through the 7th of July.

With the JNHE being over the 4th of July, I wanted to do something that would benefit those who are serving our country. The service project that I will be conducting is “Herefords Helping Heroes”. “Herefords Helping Heroes” will focus on collecting donations that will be sent to troops overseas.

We started out by contacting the National Guard, which then lead us to the Red Cross. The Red Cross is very excited to be working with us in pursuing a successful service project. During Jr. Nationals, we will be collecting needed/requested items, along with having a card drive. We will have an item drop off station in the junior office and the Hereford Women Booth. The Hereford Women Booth will be setup to accommodate materials to make cards as well.

Every year there is an activity that the Queen puts on during the Queen’s Tea. This year’s activity will be making cards. I want to get as many of the young members and juniors involved. No one realizes how much a card means to someone so far away from home. Anyone or group that would like to make a card before coming to Jr. Nationals is more than welcome!

The cards that are made and turned in will be sent out with the donation items at the duration of the week. At the conclusion of Jr. Nationals, the donations and cards will be transported back to my home state, Ohio, and be dropped off at the Red Cross located in Columbus. I hope that everyone feels the urge to participate in helping our troops. Not only are we giving back, but we are showing our appreciation for what they do that always seems to go unnoticed.

Below is a list of items that have been recommended by the troops. Please try to follow this list of recommendation and guidelines. There may be some changes/additions to this list, so stay tuned once we get closer to Jr. Nationals.

Thank you for all you support!

Hygiene

Food Items (individual packages)

Entertainment