Tigers for Troops
Most Americans support our troops in Iraq, but at Spring Woods High this year several teachers and community members have taken support for the troops to the next level.
Where ever Americans stand today on the war in Iraq, they should support our troops. Young men and women risk their lives everyday, just to protect the United States.
Spring Woods High Integrated Physics & Chemistry support teacher Martha Doffing and biology teacher Carly Stutes started up Tigers for Troops’ as a way to make life easier for Doffing’s son, Kevin, and Stutes’s brother, Donn Ebarb, both of whom are serving in Ramadi, Iraq.
The two women have put together care packages for individual soldiers and platoons they hear about and, on certain dates, send them overseas.
Kevin Doffing, a 2000 Spring Woods High graduate, will return from Iraq soon. “My son told me that they [soldiers] don’t receive many letters and that what items they do receive, they share with everyone else. So if one soldier gets something, they’re all getting something.” The same sentiment was echoed by Stutes’s brother regarding his unit, resulting in the organization of Tigers for Troops.
The care packages include magazines, DVDs, books, chips, snacks, Mac N Cheese, nonperishable microwave dinners, canned dinners, oatmeal, breakfast bars, protein bars, pens and pencils, carb-free and sugar-free water flavor packets, small candles, puzzle books, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, luffas, body wash and shampoo, sunscreen, beef jerky, Tabasco and homemade cookies and snacks packed in sealed Tupperware-style containers. Absolutely no aerosol cans may be mailed.
“Even though it’s simple to us, it’s really a morale booster to get things from America,” Doffing said.
A holiday-related mailing was sent out in October. Another group of packages will be assembled in early December. To participate or to add a soldier to the mailing list, please contact Martha Doffing at martha.doffing@springbranchisd.com or Carly Stutes at carly.stutes@springbranchisd.com. Checks made out to Spring Woods High School will also be accepted.
Stratford High School intern Katherine Flowers compiled information for this report.
Fallen Heroes
Veterans Day is a time not only to honor those who have served in the Armed Forces, but those currently serving in America’s military. Spring Branch ISD seeks to pay tribute to all its alumni who are fallen heroes.
In the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, more than 4,250 American service men and women have died. Many Spring Branch residents either know of somebody serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, or men or women who have died there.
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Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Sauer Mendlicott |
Two SBISD alumni died in action overseas this past summer. On Aug. 25, 2007, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Sauer Mendlicott, a 2005 Spring Woods High graduate, was killed during active duty in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, when an explosive device was detonated near him. He was 21 years old.
While attending Spring Woods High, Mendlicott took photography classes. In Iraq, he put those photography skills to use, taking more than 3,000 pictures. He met his fiancée, Britani Mulherin, a 2006 Spring Woods High graduate, in Pamela Carter’s photography class at the high school.
Science teacher Martha Doffing, one of the campus coordinators for the Spring Woods High-based “Tigers for Troops” care package program, remembers Lance Cpl. Mendlicott as being interested in the Marines even in high school.
Army Pfc. William “Billy” Edwards, 23, a 2002 Stratford High graduate, was killed by a sniper shooting while on patrol in south Baghdad, also in August. After attending Stratford High, Edwards went on to Texas A&M University, but after two years decided to join the Army.
He is fondly remembered by his former teachers and family alike. “Billy was a very outgoing boy who loved life,” his father, Bill Edwards, told local reporters. “He was just happy with the world. And he liked discipline. He was definitely a military boy.”
These young men are missed by their friends, family and fellow students. They will always be remembered as Spring Branch’s fallen heroes.
Stratford High School intern Katherine Flowers compiled information for this report. If you know of a Fallen Hero who attended SBISD, email katherine.flowers@springbranchisd.com or steven.brunsman@springbranchisd, or call Steve Brunsman in Communications Dept. at 713-464-1511, ext. 2465, if you have questions.
SBISD recognizes alumni serving in the Armed Forces
High school graduates have many choices as to what they want to do in the future. Graduates may choose to go to college; some study for a trade; others join the Armed Forces. To serve the nation in the military requires a great amount of thought and an even greater amount of passion.
There are plenty of young men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect the nation. The men and women listed below have been identified as SBISD alumni and are currently serving in the Armed Forces:
Memorial High
Marine Lance Cpl. Steven May
Spring Woods High
Capt. William P. Alcorn
Aaron Black
Cpl. Bryan Brezina
Kyle Case
1ST Lt. Kevin Doffing
Justin Gipson
Sean Harkins
Sgt. Larry Harsh
Marine Cpl. Eric Morante
Arilla Rawlins
Jeremy Reese
John David Smith
Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy Ubernosky
School of Choice:
Kenny Adams
Jonathon Bohannon
Heraclio "Junior" Trevino
If you have a name to add to this list, or if you have a title or rank change, please e-mail Katherine.flowers@springbranchisd.com or steven.brunsman@springbranchisd, or phone Steve Brunsman in the Communications Dept. at 713-464-1511, ext. 2465, for more assistance.
Stratford High School intern Katherine Flowers compiled information for this report.
Honoring Vets
