| ||||
|
|
South Dakota beef project prompts Nebraska effort
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP)--A South Dakota project that sent beef sticks and jerky to troops in Iraq has prompted Nebraska to launch a similar effort.
Beef for the Troops, launched in May, is providing kippered beef strips, called Sweet Beef Sticks, to more than 900 Nebraska servicemen and women.
The first two shipments provided 690 of those 900 men and women with an 8-ounce package of the specially prepared meat. Another shipment of 150 packages is scheduled to go out to service personnel in Kuwait.
"Somehow Nebraska beef always seems to taste a little better than the rest. We all really appreciate and will enjoy the jerky. Everyone back home continues to support our soldiers and you don't have any idea just how much that means to all of us," wrote Christopher J. Weskamp, a Nebraska soldier in Iraq.
The thank-you note is one of several that Tom Maddux of Top Cut Gourmet Steaks in North Platte has received.
Maddux originally developed the kippered beef strips as an item to be sold through Cabela's. The vacuum-packaged meat doesn't require refrigeration.
In February, a Howard, S.D., meat locker teamed with the South Dakota Beef Industry Council to ship more than 5,500 packages of beef jerky and 2,700 packages of beef sticks to South Dakota troops stationed in Iraq.
The project prompted Maddux to think a similar project needed to be launched in Nebraska.
NebraskaLand National Bank has teamed with Maddux to raise funds for the Beef for the Troops project. Awareness was promoted through two prime rib sandwich luncheons served on the bank's parking lot.
More than $8,500 has been raised to date for the project, according to Dana Hurst, marketing coordinator at NebraskaLand National Bank. The majority of the donations has come from the Nebraska Beef Council, Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Cattlewomen and R-CALF.
James D. Lane, serving in Kosovo with the 192nd Military Police Detachment out of Omaha, wrote that the beef is "about the best thing I've tasted in a while."
"There is nothing quite like the taste of Nebraska corn-fed beef on your palate. As for me, I'm truly thankful for that taste from home," Lane writes in a letter to Maddux.
There is more, though, than just the taste of Nebraska beef that's appreciated by those who have received a Beef for the Troops package.
"With the generous support from home and the love that is passed on from the community, a soldier strives to do the best for his country .... Just knowing that there are people praying for our safety and our safe return home makes me want to continue to serve this great nation of ours and to protect the freedom that so many Americans take for granted," Lane wrote.
Date: 9/23/04
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com
 
| |||||||||||||||||||||
