Local credit union provides phone cards; deploying Soldiers get to keep in touch

Story and photo by Sgt. Shatara Seymour, GUIDON staff

In an informal ceremony Jan. 11 outside Lincoln Hall Auditorium in the Maneuver Support Center, representatives from Mid-Missouri Credit Union presented 40 Soldiers from the 200th Engineer Battalion with 200-unit phone cards.

The Soldiers, from Linden, Ala., accepted the cards for their future deployment to the Middle East to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"This is a way for us to show our appreciation and support for the troops," said Mindy Tronstad, Mid-Missouri Credit Union marketing director.

The Credit Union staffers sold cookbooks to provide these Soldiers with a means to keep in touch with their loved ones.

"The staff provided recipes for the cookbooks. Our activities committee put the project together and made it happen," said Arleta Weber, Mid-Missouri Credit Union executive vice president.

Weber said doing things like this boosts morale for the Soldiers when they're able to keep in touch with their families, and it also shows that people support them.

"Our philosophy at the credit union is ??people helping people,'" she added.

And the Soldiers appreciate this kind gesture.

"It is great to have people that you don't know looking after you and supporting the troops, " said Lt. Col. Eddie Porter, 200th Engineer Battalion commander. "It is a wonderful feeling. "

Porter went on to say this shows that people are grateful for what Soldiers do, and it allows them to communicate with their loved ones.

"Family tie is the No. 1 force multiplier for Soldiers," Porter added.

With their departure date sometime in the near future, as they are now in their desert camouflage uniforms, the 200th Engineer Battalion heads to the Middle East for a projected 545 days. The mission is to provide assured mobility, Porter said.