Leslie Gibson
Every day, troops pass through DFW Airport, bound for Iraq, or Afghanistan and other locations.
At the airport, the troops say their good-byes to family if the family was able to come to it, and wait for their flights.
A homecooked meal with hugs and laughter make it a better send off.
Royse City teachers, some of their children, and their co-workers organized over the summer to coordinate and serve a barbecue lunch on July 29, an endeavor so fulfilling they plan to do so again right after Christmas, and have inspired the Royse City Early Bird Rotary to do the same, as well as individual families.
Ana Shew, of Davis Elementary, said it was wonderful.
“The soldiers were from all over the country,” she said. Soldiers’ family members were encouraged to eat also.
As troops filed into the departure area afterward, the Royse City contingent flanked them and greeted them.
“Stacey Kluttz arranged it,” Shew said. Klutz is a teacher at Davis Elementary.
“We had barbecue sandwiches, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, chocolate cake, carrot cake, and iced tea,” she said.
One volunteer smoked and chopped the brisket, others made or purchased the food. It was finished up at the site, beginning at 10 a.m. and by 3 p.m. it was over.
The group wore T-shirts, designed and donated by a firm, which said, “Till They All Come Home.”
