Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Transit agency reroutes items given to troops

A city program will ship the packages that MacDill can't send overseas.

By NICK JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
Published September 12, 2007

The city's Support the Troops program received a bounty last week thanks to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's botched plans to take the goods to MacDill Air Force Base.

A busload of donations that had been collected by PSTA from various groups, businesses and at drop boxes at terminals was delivered to the city of St. Pete Beach.

Gabrielle Donaldson, the PSTA marketing and sales coordinator who organized the monthlong drive, said they had planned to take the donations to MacDill Air Force Base for distribution to military personnel serving overseas.

The drive ran smoothly from July to the end of August. A PSTA bus was ready to be packed with and taken to the base.

Donaldson called the visitor center at MacDill to confirm their delivery. She said she was then transferred to Master Sgt. John Close, who delivered the bad news.

"We were told that we couldn't bring our bus for security reasons," Donaldson said.

In fact, MacDill doesn't usually accept large donations, and when items are accepted, they are never shipped or flown overseas.

"The problem with folks on the outside donating is that we don't have anywhere to store these items," said Close, the Family Readiness Program manager at MacDill.

"People get under the impression that we have planes that are taking stuff over to the troops, and that'snot true."

Close said that he didn't recall speaking to Donaldson and that he would have explained that MacDill couldn't handle such a large donation.

Stuck with a busload of goods, Donaldson contacted Terri McMaster, St. Pete Beach city clerk, who runs the city's donation program.

"I called Terri up and asked if we could combine our efforts and bring all our stuff over to St. Pete Beach. She said that would be fine," Donaldson said.

PSTA took the bus to the St. Pete Beach City Hall last Wednesday.

Although McMaster was out of town, Commissioner Mike Finnerty, a veteran who has been active in the program, was there to help unload the boxes.

"It was the best day that I've ever had since I've been in office," Finnerty said.

He estimated the donations, packed in two rooms at City Hall, would amount to more than 1,000 care packages.

The shipping will be paid for by contributions from beach residents, and the packages will be sent to military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Close said that MacDill receives an enormous amount of support from people who want to help out. The Family Readiness Program can take some donations to give out before deployment.

MacDill personnel can't even send individual care packages from the base.

"If I wanted to send something to a friend of mine, I'd have to go through the normal post office," Close added.

St. Pete Beach is taking the names of military men and women to send packages to and is accepting donations for its Support the Troops program.

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361.

[Last modified September 11, 2007, 23:09:02]