Lee Greenwood, our national spokesperson, and I had a chance to meet with the Executive Director of The Folds of Honor Foundation, Ed Pulido, for lunch this week in Nashville.  Major Pulido is a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient for his service in Iraq.  Major Pulido lost one of his legs when an IED exploded near him while they were working to clear out a very difficult area once controlled by Al Qaeda.  It was exciting just to be a witness to these two gentlemen being truly elated to meet the other.  For me it was rewarding to know that Products for Good was a catalyst for the meeting.  Please see the attached photo of Lee and Ed holding our White House Edition Patriotic Shadowbox. 

Memorial Day has proven to be a very good time to get to tell the Products for Good story and we have been booked on more than a dozen different shows (radio and TV) over the holiday weekend...including a few shows that have or will dedicate the entire hour to our project.  I was amazed at how the hour went by so quickly...at first I was concerned that we would have trouble filling an entire hour, but each time, I was sorry to see it end.  I have been very imporessed with the level of support each of the hosts have had for our military.  We will be posting all of the interviews on our site as we get copies...please have a safe and reflective Memorial Day weekend and please remember to give thanks to all of those who have lost their lives protecting our freedoms...Lane

The link below became active yesterday, you can click on it and watch the video. The 2 young girls singing, lead is 12 years old, backup singer, is 16 years old, they are sisters....Their father is with the IL National Guard, the 12 year old wrote this when her father was deployed. It was filmed here in Smyrna, TN.....It's really amazing to watch!

The National Guard decided to make a music video out of it, it's an awesome showing. It will be aired on the big screen before all feature films, it's in 5 states, it started on the 13 May 09. The theater version is 2.38 min. long, and then there is the extended version. The longer version is on the link below, and well worth watching.  

To View this video or download the song for free:  www.nationalguard.com/priceofpeace

One of the best parts of the Products For Good (PFG) story is the Cleveland Vocational Industries (CVI) facility that assembles the shadowboxes for PFG.  It is extremely rewarding to know that we are able to provide actual jobs to Americans who have disabilities and would otherwise not be able to find work in the traditional work force.  Please see the attached brief video to view the assembly process at CVI.  You can really see the pride on each face as the shadowbox works its way down the line.  These are very special people doing this work.  Makes us very proud that we have created a company that not only donates moneys from every sale to US Military and their families, but also works with CVI to create up to 150 jobs at their facility for more than two years.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and to view the video.

Lee Greenwod and I had an opportunity to tape a TV Show called Life Today with James and Bettye Robison in Dallas, Texas last month.  I will certainly be talking more about that later as the show is going to air the week of Memorial Day, 2009.  We are excited about that segment and Lee even sings God Bless the USA to close out the show.  While we were there taping our segment, there were other military related Life Today shows also being taped to be shown the same week as our show.  We met some real American heroes, but I wanted to talk about one of them in particular today.  Please see the attached photos of Colonel Leo Thorsness.  Colonel Thorsness truly redefines the word hero.  First of all, Colonel Thorsness is a Medal of Honor recipient for a mission he flew before he was captured and spent 6+ years in the Hanoi Hilton as a Prisoner of War.  You can read all about his experience in his book Surviving Hell. I don't want to talk too much about his book here but I think that every American should read this to understand what real sacrifice is as most of us are busy whining (myself absolutely included) about nothing and this book really helps make that very clear.  I want to talk about what a kind, considerate, and humble man Colonel Thorsness is and what a honor is was for us to meet him.  Leo, as he inisited we call him, has not an ounce of apparent bitterness about his experience.  He is one of 98 living Medal of Honor reciepients.  He and his wife Gaylee have been married for 55 years and this is a man that everyone would want to have as their grandfather.  He exudes kindness and compassion for others.  He has even managed to find humor from the absolute worst of experiences of being a captive, being beaten repeatedly, and much more while in Hanoi.  He told us how they helped each other through that experience and does so in a way that we can all learn many life lessons.  Please take a moment to read about Colonel Thorsness at the link below and best of all get his book and use it as a way to know that you can get through whatever tribulations you are facing now and always.  It is a story of hope and appreciation for life.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_K._Thorsness 

Welcome to our blog.  We are excited to get this process started as we have been asked many times by our Customers and other interested people to be able talk about Products for Good and what we are trying to accomplish and what we are trying to represent as an organization.  We are on a mission - a mission to create success and have a positive impact on many others along the way.  We donate monies to several Veterans' charities and they are all doing great work that make us proud to be able to support them.  They are all working to help Veterans and their families with issues that challenge those people every day.  We truly believe at PFG that if it was not for those who for generations have been willing to defend our freedoms, that we would not be in the position we are in today.  It is really an honor to be able to give something back.  We also have the opportunity through the assembly of our Patriotic Products to provide work opportunities for mentally and physically diabled Americans who work at Cleveland Vocational Industries (CVI) in Shelby, North Carolina.

Please feel free to leave us your comments.  We have met so many special people along this journey already and we know that we have really only just begun ourjourney.  Our goal is to raise more than $20mm for the families of the wounded and fallen and to provide as many as 150 jobs at CVI for more than two years.