Last month, in communities across our region, state and nation, people came together to celebrate and honor our nation’s heroes on Veterans Day. We took time to reflect, remember and give thanks. We certainly owe our veterans a tremendous debt of gratitude for their selfless sacrifice to protect us and our families. I know there are no words we can ever say to convey our deepest gratitude to these incredible heroes.

We enjoy our cherished freedoms because these brave servicemen and women fought for, and continue to fight for, our nation. As we enter this holiday season, I know it is easy to get caught up in this hectic season. However, I would like to ask everyone to try to take some time during the holidays, and throughout the year, to continue honoring and thanking our veterans and active duty military.

You may wonder what else you can do to support our brave servicemen and women. Simple acts and gestures throughout the year can be incredibly meaningful to our friends who serve, and have served in the military. You can drop in and visit a veteran in your neighborhood. Help them by raking leaves or shoveling their sidewalk. Cook them a meal or bake them cookies. Take an afternoon to visit veterans at the Bath or Canandaigua VA or even volunteer to help. Teachers and students can make care packages to send to our troops serving overseas. Or, it can be as simple as walking up to a veteran or a soldier in uniform and saying “thank you.” A simple thank you because they never hesitate to sacrifice their life to protect us and our families.

A perfect example of this action and thoughtfulness can be seen in 11-year-old Sophie Kartzman, a Horseheads Intermediate School student. Last year, Sophie worked with a friend to send 100 holiday cards to soldiers serving overseas. This year, she set an ambitious goal. She wanted to send 1,000 cards, but because of her hard work and the overwhelming support she received from her classmates, her school and our local community, she surpassed and increased her goal several times. By the end, Sophie collected over 9,000 cards for our brave men and women who keep us safe.

In a recent local newspaper article, Sophie described her motivation for generating support for our veterans and active duty soldiers.

“They do so much for us (overseas), fighting, risking their safety and being away from their families,” she said. “We're over here living our lives. They deserve some recognition.”

Another great example of this thoughtfulness was recently highlighted in a local newspaper. It discussed the actions of two young brothers, Aydin (age 11) and Nedim (age 9) Bedir of Alpine, NY. Aydin and Nedim are both students at Hanlon Elementary School in Odessa. For the past three years, these brothers have donated their trick-or-treat candy to those in the military who cannot always be with their families. In past years, the brothers have donated their candy to troops serving at Fort Benning, Georgia and the National Guard at the Horseheads Armory. This year, the boys collected 11 pounds of candy. They donated half to the Bath VA and half to local U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Justin Ackroyd, a recruiter who served two tours in Iraq.

When I see and hear about the caring initiative of Sophie, Aydin and Nedim for our veterans and active duty military, it certainly makes me feel good about the future of our country knowing we have these caring young leaders in our community. Their selfless actions are an inspiration, and hopefully, “a call to action” for all of us to try to do a little bit more during this holiday season and throughout the year to help and thank our brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much for all of us.

In closing, I would like to say thank you to our veterans, active duty military and their families for your service and sacrifice. It is because of you that we can take the time to enjoy this time of year and each and every day. It is my hope that you always know how much your community, state and nation appreciates you and all you have done for us. It is also my hope that during this special time of year you enjoy the peace, safety and happiness you so very much deserve. Please know that you are in my prayers and the prayers of so many grateful Americans. Thank you.