IOWA TICKET RAFFLE SUPPORTING

OPERATION BUCKEYE

Support our military personnel overseas and enter to win two tickets plus airfare to the Iowa game courtesy of Strike City. 

How it Works...

1.  Operation Buckeye is an all-volunteer group in Columbus, co-chaired by Dick Tressel and Jim Caronis.  100% of donations are used for purchasing items for boxes and for shipping.  To date, over 11,000 boxes have been sent!

2.  With your $10.00 purchase of a raffle ticket you also Adopt A Box filled with items packed by Operation Buckeye staff for a soldier serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.  You will receive the name of your soldier and fill out a thank you card to show your appreciation for their service to our country.  You may also fill out an envelope with your return address so your soldier can write back to you.  Charlotte Buckeye volunteers will send your thank you note and envelope to Operation Buckeye to be placed in one of the boxes.

3.  After you Adopt A Box, fill out a raffle ticket so that you are entered into the drawing for two tickets plus airfare to the Iowa game in Columbus on November 14th, courtesy of Strike City.

4.  Adopt A Box donations/raffle tickets will be available ($10.00) at the Indiana, Wisconsin and Purdue games.  The drawing for the Iowa tickets will be held at the Purdue game watch.  You do not need to be present to win. 

5.  The OSU Atlanta Alumni Club is proudly displaying a big banner for the biggest supporter of Operation Buckeye last year.  Don't you think that banner would look great hanging at Strike City??? Let's do it!!!

Below are a few thank-you notes received from soldiers who got a box from Operation Buckeye:

Dear Operation Buckeye,
Thanks for your package and note of support. It really means a lot to the soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters
Company HHCL 5 Engineer Battalion. Every little bit of support really does improve the morale of the soldiers over
here in Iraq.
I am a graduate of The Ohio State University (originally from the Akron / Canton area), so it is great to see fellow
Buckeyes supporting the Soldiers over here. We are going into our 6 month of a15 month deployment. It is a
long time to be away from families and loved ones, but Iraq is really changing for the better and we can see the results of our work everyday.

The 5 Engineer Battalion conducts a wide range of missions including route clearance (removing road side bombs). construction of US base camps (making facilities better for our soldiers), road repair and construction, project site assessments to help the local governments repair infrastructure (bridges, schools, etc), humanitarian assistance missions, and helping partnering with Iraqi Army Engineer units.

There has been a turn for the better in Iraq. Iraqi Army units have actually taken the lead on several operations and
many local Iraqi citizens are really taking interest in making their country better, Several are starting to turn in the
foreign fighters and other bad guys that are still causing problems. Iraq just passed the election law (should see
provincial elections sometime after the 1 of the year) and the local Iraqis are excited about continuing to make their
government work.

Take Care,
Bill Hannan
Major, United States Army
Operations Officer

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Thank you for the care packages and kind thoughts. It’s great to know folks at home are
thinking of us. In addition to 30 Guardsmen from Ohio, there are folks from Alaska. Georgia
and Missouri. All of us have volunteered for this deployment, believe in the mission here, and
are proud to serve our country. It was especially significant for us to be here on September 11 ‘
since the events of that day seven years ago triggered the need for us being here today, separated
from our families. We hope and pray that our sacrifices will bring about positive change to this
land. Thanks again for you support. it means the world to us!

Kurt S. Flankenship. Major
l79 Airlift Wing
Mansfield. Ohio
(Currently assigned to the 455th Expeditionar Wing
Bagram. Afghanistan)