Coyotes to Hold Armed Forces Night

June 18, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Central Valley Coyotes News Release


(Fresno, CA) - On July 5th the Central Valley Coyotes will be holding "Armed Forced Night" during their game against the Stockton Lightning. Members of the armed forces can receive arena level seats for $10 for themselves and their family and friends with a military id.

The Coyotes have also team up with Tunes 4 the Troops (www.tunes4thetroops.org) to collect DVD's, music Cd's, Books On CD, Xbox, and Playstation games that will then be sent to the Troops overseas. Fans that donate 2 items will receive $3 off each ticket they purchase, if they donate 5 items they will receive a free ticket to that night's game.

Giving back to the community has been a theme for the Coyotes this season, wishing to support the community that has supported them for 5 years. This night is just an extension of the other things that they have done this season. Collecting and sending items to the troops overseas is a way for us to show our admiration and appreciation to those they give us the freedom that we have.

A special camouflage jersey will be worn by the Coyotes on this night that will then be auctioned off after that game. Portions of the proceeds of the auction will go to charity.

Tickets are available for the Coyotes Armed Forces Night on July 5th those interested can contact the Coyotes ticket office at (559) 263-9780 or can purchase tickets at the Selland Arena Box office located at 700 M St. in Fresno.

As a 14-year-old high school freshman, Kaylee Marie Radzyminski had the opportunity to meet and speak with troops returning home from deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. When she asked what they missed most about home, more often than not the answer was "entertainment." They missed the movies, music and television programming from "the states." It was from these conversations that Kaylee Marie realized there was something she could do to make the lives of these heroes more tolerable in a war zone. She would go home and collect from her friends and family, unused music CDs and DVDs.

What started out as a small collection drive quickly grew into an obsession, and finally into a bona-fide program. Kaylee Marie named the effort "Tunes 4 the Troops." She enlisted the assistance of fellow students to set up collection points at football games and other school events. Soon the local media learned of her program. Once word got out, Tunes 4 the Troops grew by leaps and bounds and is now a non-profit organization.

Now 16-years old, Kaylee Marie has collected and shipped more than 215,000 individual music CDs, DVDs and Books on CD, valued at more than 3.4 million dollars, to troops stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea and Kosovo. She has personally delivered shipments to Walter Reed Army Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C. She also made a personal delivery to the U.S.S. Tennessee Nuclear Ballistic submarine while in port at Kings Bay, Georgia. "This trip carried special meaning for me", Kaylee Marie recalls, "as I am from Tennessee." She hopes to one day travel to the Middle East to hand deliver some boxes directly to the troops.

Word quickly spread outside of Southeast Tennessee and Kaylee Marie has been featured nationally on CNN and names a "CNN Hero" in the "Young Wonder" category, the Montel Williams Show, Channel One News, the Military Channel as well as the Pentagon Channel, broadcast on AFRTS. She has also been featured in additional local coverage when visiting North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona.

While Kaylee Marie is completely dedicated to her Tunes 4 the Troops program, spending 25-30 hours per week on it, (to date Kaylee has spent over 3,800 hours) she still manages a 3.65 GPA in school and even competes on the Varsity Cross Country and Track teams. She is District Secretary of Interact, the high school arm of Rotary International and works as a hostess at Outback Steakhouse. She does, occasionally, take time for herself admitting, "I love to shop, especially for shoes and purses."

Kaylee Marie hopes to attend the U.S. Naval Academy upon her graduation in 2009, but before then, she hopes to accomplish her goal of sending 500,000 items to troops overseas by the end of 2008. This goal is not out of the realm of possibility as she has been getting help from some powerful sources. Showtime Networks has sent her over 4,500 CDs and DVDs including copies of Dexter and the Brotherhood along with copies of the Tudors. Hollywood Video donated over 2,700 DVDs, Netflix has donated 1,000 DVDs and Virgin Mega Stores have donated 750 CDs and DVDs. Rick Goad Ministries donated 7500 CD's, with more to come. And many others in the recording industry are now supporting her. Kaylee Marie has also received help from local and national companies donating cash for postage and shipping materials to help her send the packages around the globe.



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