JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Sunny Anderson, Food Network host and chef, visited Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland May 25 as part of a cross-country tour with Operation Gratitude, which has sent millions of care packages to current and retired military members.
While at JBSA-Lackland, Air Force veteran Anderson cooked, signed autographs and handed out free copies of her new book "Sunny’s Kitchen" to all the visitors.
Visitors were excited to see the celebrity in person.
"I think this event is very awesome," said retired Army Sgt. Maj. Cheryl Faimon, who was deployed from 2005 to 2006. "I’ve seen Sunny on television, but never had the opportunity to see her in person, so this is my lucky day."
There was also a letter-writing station where guests were able to fill out postcards to service members, which will be included in Operation Gratitude’s care packages.
"Operational Gratitude has already done 1.5 million," Anderson said. "We are trying to get to 2 million this year. I think we will make the mark."
In addition, for every letter written during the tour, Hormel Foods Corps will donate a dollar to Operation Gratitude.
"I love this project," said Ashley Hillig, Match Marketing Group account manager and member of Anderson’s team. "By coming to the base, I see how people are impacted by a simple thank you. I think it is a big deal to send a letter and tell someone that we appreciate them."
In her own letter, she wrote that "they deserve more gratitude than we can ever give them."
One person felt so strongly about saying "thank you" she wrote three letters.
"If I had more time, I would have written more," said retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Candace Crute. "I wanted to make sure I wrote a massage to as many as I could because, even though I don’t know them, I am proud of them for their service, their sacrifice and that they are doing the job they’ve been called to do wherever they are."
When speaking about the importance and meaning of "just writing a letter," both Anderson and guests became teary-eyed and emotional.
"When someone reaches out in their personal time to thank a stranger, it’s pretty awesome," Anderson said. "We live in a free country. There are military members and families that are forced every single day to think about the cost of that freedom. I think many people don’t realize that it’s hard for many families to even watch the news because they have family members overseas and don’t want to hear any bad news."
"We (military members) all took an oath and we take pride in that. I worked my tail off in basic training to take that oath before the flag," Anderson said, tearing up.
"So, it is really cool to receive some thanks for what you would do no matter what," she added. "I don’t think anyone does it to be thanked."
Other guests held similar potent feelings about giving thanks.
"I think this project is awesome. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated everybody who wears the uniform regardless of what service they are in," Faimon said, chocking up with emotion. "They hold a special place in my heart."
During her year-long deployment to Iraq, Faimon received letters and care packages.
"It was the best because you’re away from family and friends, and that little connection to people that you love or, in some cases, to people you don’t know but are reaching out to you means a lot," she said.
Other veterans shared Faimon’s sentiments.
"When I was away from home, it was really nice to get something," said Crute, who did a remote tour to Alaska for a year. "Getting care packages helped out a lot. They gave me what I needed to get through while being away from my family."
Sunny did a year-long remote tour too, during which she also received a letter.
"This (project) means everything to me because, when I was in the Air Force at Seoul, South Korea, a colonel gave me a letter addressed to any soldier," said Anderson, who arrived at Seoul two days before Thanksgiving in 1993. "I took that letter and it was from a family in Michigan. For the rest of my military career, we were penpals. It was really awesome to get a letter because it felt like someone cared and they didn’t even know who you were. This is a continuation of that; it’s a nice full circle moment."
Guests agreed that it was a "really good project" and meaningful.
"The fact that they are doing this for military members, giving gifts out to them and getting letters for them really means a lot to me," Crute said. "It is all about taking care of military members."