We have a brand NEW Photo Gallery!!!

This is so fresh it still has the new photo smell on it! ( ;

This Blog & our Photo Gallery will work in tandem. So we can give you a "taste" of what's going on, but then we'll get you headed over to see the photos in the HeroToHero.US Photo Gallery.

Check it out! >> http://herotohero.smugmug.com/

We were devastated when we heard that AOL was closing their Journals, and when it started happening some serious panic ensued, but ... I am LOVING this new asset to our program. I did a lot of research into the various possibilities, but kept coming back to SmugMug. They get that most of us aren't pros and they write directions in a laid back casual way that removes any fears.

On the old journal you saw one photo at a time and if you tried to cut & paste it, it came up in a low resolution. You have got to check out the NEW photo options. You can enlarge any photo to 3 times its size! You can see several pix at a time, and you can download so easily now! You can even order prints of favorites. *Just remember to let us know if you are posting our pix elsewhere & be sure to give us photo credits, k?

I've just gotten started uploading the albums - and there are a LOT of them - so if there are specific pix you want to see, let me know. First up I wanted you to see the faces of the troops deployed so far from home who have already received their Hero Shirts, as well as some of our Bad Ass Heroes who gave those shirts right off their backs! Watch the albums grow as we do ...

If you like this program - SmugMug.Com, and think you might want to use it to start your own albums - I give it a serious thumbs up for fun & ease. But you can also help us out ... There is a 2 week free trial period, then you can get your own for just $39.95 a year!

Use our e-mail address >> "HeroShirts@aol.com" << for the Referral Code. Each referral gives us a $5 credit on the account and will allow us to upgrade features and continue to post up great photos for you to enjoy and save. Then when you set up your own albums and your friends & family see how cool & easy it is -- they can give you their referral for your upgrades. If you don't need the referral credits, send them our way.

Anyway, hope you like it, and please feel free to give us feedback. We love to hear from you. lj

The Hero Shirt Drive is ON!!!

**To see our photos, double click slideshows on the right >>

"We want the shirts off your backs, please

They remind us of HOME!"

HeroToHero.US is a Troop Morale Campaign, and it's almost as easy as buying a magnet for your car and saying that's enough to show you support them. Want other ways to support them? Get hold of any troop morale campaign - They need you.

Some of you know there was a medical situation that kept me from doing the (inter)national tour this year. Because of this there are some who think the program ended -- NOT TRUE! I'm just having some ongoing mobility issues, so to paraphrase one of my heroes, I need you to be my legs.

We've altered the program. Actually, I think you'll find this to be a win-win. Check it out ...

**IMPORTANT:
TEAM CANADA, YOUR PROGRAM HAS NOT CHANGED!
YOUR SHIRTS GO THRU OUR CANADIAN AMBASSADOR;
Kevin McHarg <<>

The NEW & IMPROVED HeroToHero.US program!!!

You will now be sending your shirts DIRECTLY to the troops. We'll play "matchmaker" between your departments & the troops. We just need you to pledge up.


Troops are already asking to get hooked up this year - (We just got an Engineer group making a request) The sooner you pledge, the better the chance that we will get you set up with a "local" unit. It doesn't matter if it's 1 shirt, or 1,000.

HeroToHero.US in 6 easy steps ...

1. Remember our Fallen Heroes, our Wounded ... & all of our deployed troops
2. Beginning September 11th pick out one of your CLEAN, (new/like) new department
logo’d shirts
3. Write a message to a troop on your shirt (Silver sharpies work best on dark shirts)
4. Attach your business card/contact info
5. Take shirt to your department & add with the rest of your co-workers
6. Total that number of shirts for the troops & then fill out the HERO PLEDGE FORM

*OPTIONAL (But a really nice touch!) Take a couple photos of your group with their shirts. The classic shot is done by holding the shirts in front of you with the biggest logo side showing. (Showing bare shoulders behind the shirts is extra points!) Send them to us at HeroShirts@aol.com for posting for the troops, so they can see which hometowns are participating.


Worried about shipping costs? Set up the ONE SHIRT/ONE DOLLAR campaign. Everyone brings in their shirt & $1 to cover shipping. C'mon, check out the faces of the troops out there who have already been a part of this during its 5 year run. Over 25,000 shirts to date.


As always ... NO POLITICS - NO PRO/ANTIWAR STANCES - NO BORDERS TO OUR ALLIES

lj

Memories from the 2008 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial

So the deal is you need to get all the pix you can off the old journal asap, we're gonna have to start over.

We've begun receiving video links from the 2008 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial. I'll post them here with their links. If you have more, send them on for all to enjoy. (We've included a YouTube add-on, check the lower right hand corner -- Of course they've figured out a way to sneak in car commercials, but the rest are related to us.)

The slideshow to the right of this event is temporary, no way to upload all of them - over a thousand - But you should get a good overview of the laughter & the tears of the event. *You can still get ALL of the pix from the old journal til the end of the month.


From Ferg - His latest FergFo Production on YouTube--
Memories from the 2008 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial

lj




**Look who made a special guest appearance at the after party @ Quinn's Irish Pub. He knew just the right time to start the laughter. (Check out the Policeman-vs-Fireman episodes in our Video Corner)

HeroToHero.US has a NEW Journal!

Hey all,

Sometimes you wanna change - Sometimes change is forced upon you. When that 2nd option occurs, you can only hope it's a good thing.

AOL Journals are closing permanently on 31 Oct 08. All the photos & messages from the last 5 years of our history will be gone forever.

You can still go into the Archives and search approximate dates (or use key words) to pull up the posts with photos you want. *Be sure to "click to enlarge" before you cut & paste them. I'm going to TRY to retrieve them all, but there are many THOUSANDS of them, and so much writing.

This also affects the H2H Team Canada page on our site, and I am going to help Kevin keep it up to speed there as well.

Please share this new blog with every first responder you know - they very likely have photos on that journal. The link is below.

In the meantime, stay tuned as we fine tune this new blog. Send us you links, etc. And sign on as a subscriber to be kept up with the latest info, videos, and photos.

Any of you seasoned BlogSpotters, I can use all the advice you can give.

Heeeeere we go ...

lj