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Media Kit Click here to see our brochureA Short HistoryIt all began on a winter morning in 1991, after a large and spirited group of citizens drove to Bangor International Airport to welcome home plane loads of returning Troops from Operation Desert Storm. On that first of many days to follow, Kevin Tillman, an Army Sergeant with the 82nd Airborne Division, borrowed a John Bapst Memorial High School student’s saxophone during a refueling stop and delivered a spine-tingling rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”.By nightfall on March 8, 1991 Tillman’s performance had been broadcast around the globe, thrusting Bangor, Maine and the volunteers later known as the Maine Troop Greeters into the limelight. Another war and more than half a million Troops later, the airport greetings continue. No matter the hour, members of all branches of the U.S. military and our allies are assured of a handshake, use of a free cell phone and a cookie as they pass through the city’s airport. Many are headed to and from Iraq, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as other hot spots around the globe. The Maine Troop Greeters were officially incorporated as a registered non-profit organization in 2008. The group agreed on this guiding principle: “The mission of the Maine Troop Greeters is to express the Nation’s (and our) gratitude and appreciation to the Troops, for those going overseas for a safe return and for those returning for a joyful homecoming and to make their (hopefully brief) stay in Bangor as comfortable and pleasant as possible.” The Bangor Troop greetings can be divided into four sections:
Just as with the Desert Storm welcomes a decade earlier, the greeters included veterans’ groups and ordinary citizens alike, who were alerted to Troop flight arrivals through a volunteer telephone tree. Interest built in the troop greeter network throughout the summer of 2003 due to the increase in the almost daily Troop flights. The local Unicel company began donating cell phones and free minutes for use by the Troops and the local U.S. Cellular company followed suit in 2004. The local Sam’s Club continues to donate thousands of cookies to the greeters for our Troops and our local Wal-Mart, Hannaford, Shaw’s and the American Legion have also provided food and items such as “Build-A-Bears” for new moms and dads. In 2008, greeters began using Call-Em-All, an automated telephone system based in Texas, to improve the volunteer troop greeting telephone tree network. This was made possible by the company’s donation of 10,000 free call units for the greeters. Local and national media have covered special anniversaries such as the half-millionth Troop arrival at Bangor International Airport and the meeting of the 3000th Troop flight. They’ve also covered more heartwarming stories, such as the story of a soldier from Maine whose family had driven 3 ½ hours to spend 90 minutes to welcome him home. An independent film, “The Way We Get By”, based on the lives of three Maine Troop Greeters has been release. Please click here to see the film web site and trailer. History written by Richard Shaw Media Contacts for the Maine Troop Greeter OrganizationMaine Troop GreetersBangor International Airport 287 Godfrey Boulevard, Box 6 Bangor, ME 04401 Tom Kohl, Chair (207) 989-2012 Tkohl1463@aol.com Don Gallupe, Vice Chair (207) 947-7225 dopa50@aol.com Clayton Dodge, Secretary (207) 866-4849 dodge@maine.edu Cathy Czarnecki, Treasurer (207) 848-5901 theczarneckis@myfairpoint.net Richard Shaw, Historian (207) 942-7483 pinetreeshaw@verizon.net |
The Maine Troop Greeters Official Web Site