ALTUS  The Central and Western Oklahoma Region of the American Red Cross held a card-making event Thursday for the upcoming holiday season to express its appreciation to military personnel and veterans for their service.

The event was held at the Altus Red Cross Office in Altus as part of the 2012 Holiday Mail For Heroes campaign. The campaign is in support of military personnel who will be away from their families this holiday season due to deployments and hospital stays, with cards to include words of encouragement, gratitude and cheer.

Rosalyn Hall, disaster relief specialist for the Southwest Oklahoma Red Cross chapter, said the event has garnered a lot of interest from within the community.

"We had people from the senior citizens center come in and make cards this morning," she said. "And we had 100 children from the Wilson Head Start come in to make their own cards."

The Southwest Oklahoma Red Cross chapter serves five area counties including Jackson, Greer, Harmon, Kiowa and Tillman. Within the service area of the Central and Western Oklahoma Region are several military installations including Altus, Vance and Tinker air force bases; Fort Sill and the Coast Guard Institute, along with various National Guard stations.

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