beckyrepp

Hi Gang, Jim Ross supplied me with the number of other folks deployed with Shelly Graham's sister - there are six of them deployed to assist a chaplain. We're sending goodies to all of the soldiers and the chaplain. We'll get their care packages out this week. THANK YOU EVERYONE! Together we will have shipped to over 40 brave men and women currently serving our country. Becky

YUP. Happy to help anyone shop (shopping is one of my favorite things to do after traveling America's backroads!). The FREE gifts: THE WAY IT WORKS: We have an offer of spend $50 and you get a free gift with your order. You spent 50 a few times over - so, a free gift for each $50!

There will be a naming contest for our Espresso - so, we can certainly add it to our name nominations. We've already got someone who sent in another nomination for Espresso - "Pony Espresso." Great stuff everyone. Keep those ideas and votes coming! B

It's time to vote to name the American Road House Blend coffee. Pick your favorite from the nominees, OR, write in your nomination. We'll add it to the choices. Voting ends Sunday—at midnight—December 9, 2007. Have fun voting!

During our research we found these other alternatives: http://www.packagesfromhome.org/ Anysoldier.com Treatanysoldier.com On another note, guess what? Pat learned that Shelly Graham (a well-known Route 66 photographer and friend) has a sister stationed in Iraq. We're sending her a package as well. And, if we have enough funds - we will send care packages to her entire platoon. Jim is getting the information for me right now. Happy Holidays! Becky

Hi Gang, I just learned that the 2008 Tin Can Tourists Winter Convention – February 14-17, 2008 will be at the Lake Manatee State Park – SR 64, east of Bradenton, Florida. If you are interested - question should be directed to: Contact Forrest Bone f23bone@earthlink.net And, be sure to tell Forest hello from American Road magazine! Becky

Help us name our new American Road® Signature coffees—roasted exclusively for American Road® by Rona, Inc. (a gourmet coffee roaster and specialty food company). Each week we will ask you to send us a name idea for one of our coffees. We will hold a vote each Saturday to select the winning name. The winner will receive a pound of that signature coffee! Check out the variety of gourmet coffee at: http://americanroadmagazine.com/catalog/pr...3e8417096f9372f This week’s coffee contest is naming the American Road® House Blend. Send your coffee name nomination to becky@americanroadmagazine.com. Be ready to cast your vote on Saturday on the American Road Forum. Happy Holidays and good luck in the coffee naming contest!

Hi, Good question! To avoid the need to send priority or faster, I would recommend ordering before December 18 if you want the gift(s) to arrive before December 25. For solo gift subscriptions - if you want the subscription to start with the first mailing of the Winter issue - I suggest ordering before noon (EST) tomorrow (December 5). But don't panic, if you order after that we will still send a gift notice prior to December 25. You will also have the option to have the subscription start with the second mailing of the Winter issue (which mails in early January) OR you may pay postage to upgrade to First Class shipping of the first issue with the gift notice. If ordering gift sets (such as a subscription and coffee, etc.) you can order up until December 18 and the Winter edition will be included in the order. We can even email gift notices on December 25 for those folks who like to wait until the last possible moment! We're here to help make your holiday shopping easy. Don't forget the advertisers in American Road are available to help as well. One cool idea is to order travel brochures, info, etc. from our advertisers to include with a subscription and/or other road-related gifts. You can stuff a stocking or an American Road tote bag full of road trip goodies (maps, visitor guide, snacks, American Road® Signature coffee, a good book, etc.). The travel brochures are FREE and they will help you plan your 2008 travels. Some even have money saving coupons. This is also a great gift for someone who seems to have everything. Becky

Hi Gang, Here's a brief update: Half of the boxes were mailed to the platoons today. The rest of them will be mailed tomorrow. . We received a great deal of assistance—generous donations of money, goods, and time from American Road Forum members, subscribers, and staff, including: Beverly Greer (Mich.) Hank and Kris Hallmark (Calif.) Louis Leurig (Md.) The Management Advantage (Calif.) Michelle McCollum (S. Car.) Several anonymous donations from individuals all over the USA South Carolina National Heritage Corridor Tom and Patricia Repp (Mich) Thanks everyone!

We invite you to visit the American Road® magazine on-line store to take advantage of holiday specials and to see new gift items, gourmet gifts, and gift sets now available. This is the place to find the perfect gift for your favorite two-lane traveler! Visit: http://americanroadmagazine.com/catalog/ Get a FREE gift with any purchase over $50. You choose from a travel mug, an American Road pewter keychain, or an American Road collector pewter pin. SAVE big if you purchase over $100 in merchandise with FREE shipping (within the US and to one destination). Help us name our new American Road® Signature coffees—roasted exclusively for American Road® by Rona, Inc. (a gourmet coffee roaster and specialty food company). Each week we will ask you to send us a name idea for one of our coffees. We will hold a vote each Saturday to select the winning name. The winner will receive a pound of that signature coffee! This week’s coffee is the American Road® House Blend. Send your coffee name nomination to becky@americanroadmagazine.com. Happy Holidays, have fun shopping, and good luck in the coffee naming contest!

We're just about done packing up the boxes to ship to the two platoons in Iraq. We need one more thing. . . a few letters to include in the package. I'm putting cards in each box from American Road staff. But, it would be wonderful if we could get a few letters (I could print them out if you email them to me at becky@americanroadmagazine.com) it would be icing on the cake. As a matter of fact, I understand that letters are one of the most requested items from these men and women serving our country. We are in a hurry to get these out . . . so, even just a short note would suffice. Thanks again everyone!

Hello Les, Welcome to the American Road Forum! We're glad to have you on board and look forward to reading your posts. Best, Becky

Hi Alex, Glad it arrived! I was pretty certain that you'd find a home for it! B

Hi Dave, Glad it arrived! I mailed them in batches. I have one more waiting to go out. Would love to see a photo of your TR3 when its up and running again. Looking forward to our two-year cyber b-day bash! Becky

Hi Gang, Here's the update. After multiple phone calls, I have the addresses of two platoons in Iraq - equaling 35 people - for whom we will be assembling care packages that include copies of American Road magazine (we will send multiple copies of different issues to each platoon - so that they can circulate different reading material). We are including in the packages other care items that these men & women requested: popcorn, various books, candy, protein bars, lotion, hot chocolate packets, DVDs, etc. If we have any money left from the donations that we have received after assembling these packages, we will identify another platoon. We still have magazines available to donate (we mentioned that we could donate at least 250 magazines for this purpose- we will attempt to identify a source where we might send one package for mass distribution. Thank everyone for your help! Becky

HI Denny, Glad you received the key chain. I'm happy with the way they turned out, too. The company that makes the Blue Whale pewter key chain and pins made our new pewter key chains and pins. I'd like to see a photo of your new key (and the car to which it belongs)! Becky

Hi gang, I'm thrilled to report that we have received two additional donations - one from Hank and Kris Hallmark and another anonymous donation from "one of our frequent American Road Forum members." Many thanks. We now have $175 toward shipping costs. We will provide information on the number and distribution of the packages. Best, Becky

Looking forward to see the rest of the trip. Looks like you're having a great time! Be safe on the American Road! Becky

Wow! I am absolutely overwhelmed. We have a wonderful American Road family. Within minutes of sending out an announcement via our e-newsletter, I received a generous donation of $100 toward the cause to get copies of American Road magazine in the hands of our service men and women. Many thanks to William Truesdell of "The Management Advantage" in Walnut Creek, California for this contribution. These funds will go a long way toward meeting our goal of shipping at least 250 magazines. Any funds beyond what is necessary to ship these initial copies of American Road magazine will go toward shipping future editions and/or providing other gifts to remind the men and women serving our country of-or get them in touch with-family and home. Thanks everyone, Becky Repp

After my initial post I came up with an idea. We will donate $1 from every incoming order to our on-line store between now and December 31 toward the cost of shipping magazines to our service men and women. You may also donate money specifically for this purpose—please contact me directly at becky@americanroadmagazine.com. Best, Becky Repp

Greetings everyone, Sorry to be a bit behind on things. Lots going on here at magazine headquarters. We're trying to get the Winter edition on press and Amber, Pat and Jennifer's daughter, was VERY busy posting new products, gift sets, and holiday sales to the store this week!. Anyway, I read the posts re: sending something to our men and women in the armed forces and wanted to see if we can work together to make something happen. If people are interested, we can donate some magazines to send to our soldiers oversees and/or back from overseas & now recovering from injuries. We would likely need some help covering shipping. I'm not sure how to go about making this happen, but we are ready & willing. Let me know if you have any idea how to coordinate something like this. We do have a base nearby. . . but, that's the extent of my military knowledge. Happy Thanksgiving, Becky

Thanks for the great Thanksgiving photo! We enjoyed it very much. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday! Best, Thomas and Becky Repp American Road magazine

Hello gang. Sorry for my delay in posting this message. We've had to work through a number of technical difficulties that accompanied the site upgrade. I guess that's why the term "growing pains" exists! Anyway, it seems things are now in working order. If, however, you discover something wrong on the Forum or the rest of the American Road site, please let me know so that we may fix it asap. Thanks everyone for your patience during this process. Best, Becky

Hi everybody, I've been told that the site will upgrade tonight at 10pm. They will sync the files on the new server and we'll then say goodbye to the other server. Please refrain from adding anything new to the Forum until at least 11pm. I'll post an announcement when they are done. I'm also going to send a broadcast e-mail via our e-newsletter. Here's to moving up! Becky Repp becky@americanroadmagazine.com

Thanks for sharing the site. What an incredible (and horrific) story. It seems there is a global lesson to be applied to everyone and to all industries - not just politicians, etc. about the risks involved when cutting corners for whatever reason/motivation. Becky