Making L.O.V.E., not war
FOR AUTHOR AND
Costco member Anne
Elizabeth, special
forces and romance are
a match made in
heaven.
Elizabeth, who lives
in Julian, California, is
the organizer of three
collections of short stories that marry service and love:
Operation: L.O.V.E., Holiday OP and For
Your Heart Only (
www.operationlove.us).
Each book contains five short stories
about special operations personnel or
intelligence officers placed in passionate—often humorous—romantic situations. In addition to Elizabeth, four other
writers contribute stories. What results
are sizzling romances supported by fact-based military and intelligence-world
insights. A portion of profits goes to the
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
(SOWF,
www.specialops.org), an organization that helps the families of wounded
or fallen special forces personnel and
establishes scholarships for their children.
“I wanted to do something to sup-
port the military and also debut aspiring
romance writers,” says Elizabeth, who
already has several romance novels and
a graphic novel published (
www.anne
elizabeth.net). “Each of the authors has a
connection to the military.”
Elizabeth’s connection is her hus-
band, retired decorated Navy SEAL Carl,
who encouraged her to pursue the proj-
ect with up-and-coming authors and
suggested donating to SOWF.
While the stories are fictional,
Elizabeth interviewed current and former
members of the military to make sure
details and scenarios were plausible and
accurate.
“We wanted to educate people
about what these heroes do,” she says.
“We want people to understand the sacrifices that members of our military
make for us.”—Steve Larese
Baking angels
“MY SON, JASON Rosman, was a U.S. Marine,” says
Costco member Donna Padilla. “On June 14, 2004, dur-
ing his first deployment to Iraq, he was shot three times.”
Jason survived. But his injury thrust Padilla into the
world of injured and hospitalized soldiers, and awoke in
her a desire to support these wounded warriors
by making their lives a little sweeter.
Through Heartbeat—Serving Wounded
Warriors (
www.heartbeatforwarriors.org),
once a month Padilla bakes and collects baked
treats from up to 50 other “baker angels” (
contact
bakerangels1@aol.com), delivering hundreds of baked treats—cookies, brownies, pies
and more—to the wounded soldiers in the
Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base
Lewis-McChord at Fort Lewis, Washington.
“Even though it was a negative thing that
happened to my son, a lot of positive has come
out of it,” she says. “I do this to honor my son.
It’s my way of giving back.”
“I think it is incredible that my mom bakes cookies for
the servicemen,” says Jason, who received a Purple Heart
and is now a veteran studying foreign languages through
the University of Nevada.
“She has a good heart, and she has no idea how much
getting a care package means and boosts morale.”
—T. Foster Jones
Donna Padilla, upper
photo, with her son
Jason, during his
recovery. Below,
Padilla displays some
of her donated goods.
SNOQUALMIE VALLE Y RECORD/DENISE MILLER
Lacey’s House:
home for vets
We want to
hear from you!
IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share
about Costco or Costco members, e-mail it to
connection@costco.com with “The Member
Connection” in the subject line or send it to
“The Member Connection,” The Costco
Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA
98124-1088. Submissions cannot be acknow-
ledged or returned.
AS THE DAUGHTER
of a Vietnam vet,
Costco member Lacey
Palmer wanted to help
the homeless veterans
where she lives in
Hillsboro, Oregon.
Inspired by her father,
Jim Palmer, who
serves as the county’s
veterans outreach officer, Palmer and her
husband, Mike Bryant, rented a house across
the street from where they work to provide a
place where veterans can have a roof over
their heads. The rent is nominal, and the residents share chores and pool their money for
shared dinners that they prepare.
One difference between this and a typical shared-housing situation is that Palmer
and Bryant are there to help the veterans—
who often struggle with a variety of physical,
mental and financial challenges—acclimate to
civilian life. Often this includes helping them
sort through paperwork and find jobs.
Unlike many other programs, Lacey’s
House (
www.laceyshouse.com) has no maxi-
mum stay—in most programs it’s 45 days—in
Left: Lacey’s father
and her niece work
on the Lacey’s House
sign. Above: Lacey’s
House undergoes its
transformation.
NOVEMBER 2010 ;e Costco Connection 91
order to let the residents, including Vietnam,
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, feel as though
they have a true home.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LACEY’S HOUSE
To supplement costs for running the
house, Palmer has relied on donations from
friends, local businesses and her own bank
account; she and Bryant even auctioned off
their 1968 Camaro to raise money.
Right now Lacey’s House has room for
10 veterans, but Palmer is looking to expand.
“My goal is for the nonprofit to own the
house and the property around it so that it
can forever be Lacey’s House,” she tells The
Connection. “It will be owned for the veterans, and no one can say, ‘We’re not going to
have you anymore.’ ”—Stephanie E. Ponder
