PPG’s Holloway recognized by Bush for volunteer effort

March 27, 2006 - It was a day, a handshake and an experience Kristen Holloway will never forget.

Last Wednesday Holloway, sales development manager, corporate marketing, met President Bush at the Wheeling, W.Va., airport to accept an award for a group she founded and presides over: Operation Troop Appreciation (OTA).

She met Bush outside Air Force One (shown at left), received his praise for the work of OTA, and was presented the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

“It was the most unbelievable, overwhelming and exciting moment in my life,” Holloway said with a beaming smile. “To be thanked by the president of the United States, one of – if not the – most powerful men on Earth. It’s something I’ll never forget. In fact, my feet still haven’t touched the ground.”

Holloway said she began OTA to provide help to the U.S. troops “who are risking their lives.”

Since OTA – a nonprofit organization run from Holloway’s Pittsburgh home – was formed in July 2004, more than 10,000 U.S. service men and women have received care packages tailored to meet their specific requests. Some asked for Under Armour T-shirts, others requested prepaid telephone cards for calling home, and others wanted sports equipment, musical instruments or music disks to help fill recreational time.

“I only wish that what OTA is doing wasn’t so unusual,” Holloway said. “During World War II everyone was active and showed support for the soldiers. OTA would have just been another part of the overall effort about 60 years ago. Today though, people aren’t as engaged or as mindful of what our soldiers are doing and enduring.”

Holloway was one of eight to win Redbook magazine’s “Mothers & Shakers” award in 2005. For details on OTA, vist www.operationtroopappreciation.com.