Sears Salute To Heroes Sale Returns

I’ve been working with Sears for a while now in promoting their efforts to recognize troops and everyday American heroes among the first responder community. They do a lot of hard work and I’m actually a little frustrated that there are people out there that are pessimistic about these efforts on behalf of Sears. Last time I talked about the Christmas gift card fundraiser they did for the troops, people were talking about how Sears is profiting off the troops. That simply isn’t true as I’ve witnessed firsthand what happens here. If people want to shop at Sears because they appreciate what the company does for our troops, then they deserve the profits. I’ll admit, that is one of the only reasons I shop there since I don’t visit malls much. But, I digress…

The Salute to Heroes Sale is this Saturday, 9/25. Sears is celebrating America’s service people (Police, Military, Veterans, Firefighters, Teachers, and Hospital Staff) with an extra 10% off of apparel, shoes, lawn and garden, tools, home fashions, electronics, automotive and more this Saturday, September 25, 11 AM to 2 PM. In a few select cities, the sale will run all day: Denver, CO; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN and New Orleans, LA. LUCKY!!

There are lots of great deals – men’s dress shirts for $19.99 (reg. $42), quilts for $29.99 (reg. $59.99), etc. (check out the flyer; link below).

“Local heroes” need to print out the Storewide Savings Pass found in the flyer available here: http://www.sears.com/salute, and they also need ID to prove their “local hero” status, so this isn’t a sale for just anybody.

The sale is nationwide with the exception of these cities, where it will be held on Saturday, November 13: Boston. MA; Seattle, WA; Miami, FL; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Dallas, TX and Cincinnati, OH. The offer will be the same: extra 10% off apparel, shoes, lawn and garden, tools, home fashions, electronics, automotive and more.

More information is available at http://www.sears.com/salute and enter your zip code to download your 10% off coupon.

To help promote this sale, Sears has offered readers of You Served an opportunity to win a $200 shopping spree. This isn’t a nationwide-we’re-one-of-a-million-blogs-offering-this-and-your-chances-are-slim-to-none-to-win kind of thing. Let me say again – this is being offered to You Served readers and You Served readers only. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1) Leave a comment telling us who your local hero is and why. It should be someone that fits one of the categories of this weekend’s sale (Police, Military, Veterans, Firefighters, Teachers, and Hospital Staff). This person does NOT need to be living.
2) Provide a photo that we can use to share this hero’s story with the world so they get the credit they deserve for what they’ve done. Send photos to cj@youserved.com.
3) If chosen, you must provide me with a good phone number and address so that I can contact you and write a story about how the shopping spree helped you. It would be helpful if you also provided pictures or video, but I won’t demand it. I promise that your contact information will not be shared.

It’s that’s simple. I want to tell Sears how they have made a difference in your life the way your hero has made a difference. The Winner will be announced on Tuesday, 28 Sep 2010. Here’s an example of what I’m looking for:

My hero is my grandfather, James A. Stuthers, Sr. He only served in the Army Air Corps for about two years, but he accomplished so much. He served as a togglier and ball gunner in the B-24 and B-17 bombers over Germany in 1945. At just 20 years old, he was thrust into a World War with on-the-go training and a will to survive.

My grandfather’s plane suffered two holes during the run over the target. The prop wash from the close formation flyers made it a rough ride. Life in a B-17 is one of the most frightening experiences a man can ever face. It’s not like being a Soldier on the ground. If something is shooting at you on the ground, you just shoot back. When flak is exploding in the air above you, below you, beside you, in front of you, and behind you, you have no choice but to clinch your fists and pray that today isn’t your day.

This constant feeling of intense anxiety wears a man out and works on the very core of his being. In other words, you’re afraid. You fear for your life. You wonder if you’ll ever meet that special woman God has set aside for you. You ask yourself if your family knows how much they really mean to you. Through it all you tell yourself that if you live through this one event, you’ll never step foot back on that plane. The fear grips you and causes you to tremble. Your thoughts stammer; sweat seems to evaporate the moment it leaves your pores. It’s a fear you NEVER forget, even after 47 years when the sights and sounds of a B-17 landing at a nearby field during a demonstration invoke that shaking and nervousness. My grandfather was a proud man. He never spoke of this fear, even when confronted with it head on. There’s no need to look in a dictionary or study an encyclopedia to get the true meaning of courage or courageous people. I’m going to tell you what it is.

No matter how scared Tech Sergeant James A. Stuthers was, he forced himself back on that plane for mission after mission. He bullied himself through all the flak the Germans could throw at him. He didn’t run to Canada and he didn’t hide out in the sick bays seeking encouragement and excuses while the rest of the Bums sacrificed themselves at the alter of freedom. He climbed onto the plane, manned his gun, and bombed the town of Bremen into submission. The town was filled with smoke and fire. German fighters swarmed the airspace firing their guns at the planes as they unleashed their aerial hell. One B-17 didn’t make it back from that mission. Somehow, the Bums successfully navigated the 88mm flak, rockets, bullets and prop wash that presented a wall of steel 20,000 feet in the air. And the next day, he would have to do it again.

Now, naturally, yours doesn’t have to be that long. I just happened to have already written that, so it was easier for me. So, do you want a $200 Sears shopping spree? Get started, homies!!

Note: In order to be compliant with big brother’s absurdly stupid FTC regulations and overt control over anything they can get their hands on, I must inform you that the Sears shopping spree gift card was provided to me to promote their sale this weekend. Additionally, you do NOT have be one of the “heroes” to win. The drawing will be random in the sense that I will place all qualifying names into a hat and just draw one out. That’s it. NO more fine print.