Salute the Troops Night! I need your help!

**momof2joys** · 02-09-2011, 08:28 PM

okay here's the deal, at work we are having a Salute The Troops night, myself and another bartendar are in charge of the event! We are doing an entire night to honor all troops past and present, inviting all family members and friends of any current solider or past to come! Along with the rest of the community too. We are going to be selling bracelets that say I support our troops on them and other misc, things! We are decorating the entire bar in red, white, and blue, and yellow ribbons! Us bartendars are wearing uniforms borrowed from some of our currently deployed National Guard members and our DJs for the night are doing the same!

Here's where I would like your ideas and such! If you were going to attend this event, what would you like to see happen? Any suggestions to help make it better or something that would make it extra special?? Any decorating ideas or tips are more then welcomed!

All money from the bracelets and other items is being donated to the troops, and that money is going towards, postage for mailing boxes, phone cards, etc. Also us bartendars are going to be donating all our tips that night too!!

All ideas or thoughts are welcome!

**Barn Princess Tonya** · 02-09-2011, 11:14 PM

Have you bought the decorations yet? If not, go with a USO Cantina theme. Maybe have someone strolling around selling candy (used to be smokes!). Have the gals in the brown Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy outfits.

If that's too much, then have some sort of "Drink Special" that's red, white and/or blue.

**Ramona** · 02-10-2011, 12:16 AM

Will there be opening speeches? If so, I'd suggesting a rousing singalong of The Star Spangled Banner to close the opening speeches.

If all honorees and guests and staff will be thanked at the end of the night, closing with America,The Beautiful would be a nice way to end the evening.

It sounds like you'll all have a wonderful time.

**sunshine** · 02-10-2011, 09:19 AM

You should have decorations that salute each branch of the military (don't forget the Coast Guard).

Music might include the theme song for each branch as well (the band my dd plays with, does this when ever they play at a VFW - and each one stands when their branch's song is played). They have a medley of the theme songs - they don't play the entire song for each.

Perhaps some could post pictures of loved ones (past and present) in their uniforms? to use as decorations/tributes?

**McD** · 02-10-2011, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by momof2joys

Us bartendars are wearing uniforms borrowed from some of our currently deployed National Guard members and our DJs for the night are doing the same!

You might find that this is offensive to some servicemembers. I have noticed that some servicemembers are very protective of the uniform and feel that people wearing it, who haven't earned it, to be disrespectful to those who have died wearing it. Just a heads up.

**chowder** · 02-10-2011, 09:50 AM

I don"t know if you would be allowed to, but could you have a casino theme,lottery tickets or a wheel(sorry cant think of the proper name) where folks put down their money.It would generate some extra cash.Maybe something to raffle off?

**shoiji** · 02-10-2011, 09:57 AM

How about creating some kind of care package for the service members. People could drop off personal care products, snacks, cd, etc to the package.

**momof2joys** · 02-10-2011, 02:05 PM

Thanks for the great ideas!!! We are going to be doing a slideshow of all troops our community currently has serving overseas, along with any service members that we can get a hold of, I have talked to quite a few soliders over seas and they are e-mailing me pictures of their current deployment, and my friend who is overseas had me download all 700+ photos when he was home on leave in January, plus our local Armory has a disc with over 4,000 pictures that we get to go through and use!

I have talked to our local unit about the uniforms and they are okay with us using them, we just can't have all the combact patches and such on the uniform that most of the soliders have! I did double check that before we did that! Thank you for the heads up though!

We are also going to have a giant posters of each branch and are currently working on trying to get a medely of their theme songs!! Great idea, thank you!

For decorations we are just going with the red, white, and blue, yellow for the support our troops, and of course the camo theme too!

Any other ideas are more than welcome, Thanks everyone for the ideas so far!!

**momof2joys** · 02-10-2011, 02:08 PM

Oh yeah, and the donations we recieve are going to be used for the care packages, but we are also going to be accepting items to put in those care packages, the guys that I know that are currently serving have given me quite a list of items/food they would like!! LMAO!! It's quite a list, but I am more than happy to get those items for them! We are also going to be accepting gift cards to Hy-Vee and Fareway (local grocery stores) and Wal-mart, if people would rather do that, and have us go shop for the soliders!

Some of the donations are also going to help military families and the VA hospitals!!

**Sassyclass** · 02-10-2011, 05:36 PM

I don't know about anyone else but "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood would have to be one of the songs the DJ's played. That song gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes everytime I hear it. DH and I were at a Browns game about 2 years ago and Lee was there and did that song. I don't think I've ever been in a crowd where everyone stood with their hats off and singing, even the younger rowdy drinkers stopped for this song. I think that song moves any American who hears it.

Cat

**shoiji** · 02-10-2011, 06:26 PM

How about getting someone to video tape the event. You could then send it to the service members. People could say hello to anyone they knew that is overseas. A care package could be sent with the type of decorations so they could "celebrate" while watching the video. (Guess I am dating myself by saying video tape, but you get the idea.)

Would be better if you could have a chat going on in real time with people overseas.