Guidelines for 2012 The primary website for Our Heroes' Tree is: www.ourheroestree.com The information here is offered as a courtesy from the program co-founders.
If you have Guidelines from a previous year, please download this new version (January 2012). Click on the documents on the right.
You are invited...to host...the 8th annual... OUR HEROES' TREE Our Heroes' Tree is a community engagement program to honor the service and sacrifice of our nation's Veterans; Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve families; and deceased U.S. service members.
Guidelines are available free of charge based on the
conditions set forth in the section "Trademark and Logo Usage Notes for
the General Public for Our Heroes' Tree®."
Reflect ~ START A TRADITION Decorate Our Heroes' Tree with American flags, yellow ribbon, white lights, and ornaments in honor of service members past and present Remember ~ SHARE COMMUNITY SPIRIT Host Our Heroes' Tree to honor U.S. service members and their families, and acknowledge their service, sacrifice, and deployment separation
Rejoice ~ TOGETHER IN PATRIOTIC PRICE Host Our Heroes' Tree to promote patriotic pride, patriotic literacy, and community support
TRADEMARK AND LOGO USAGE NOTES FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC FOR
Our Heroes' Tree®
Except as stated in the Trademark and Logo Usage Notes herein, you or your company/organization/etc., may not use Our Heroes' Tree Trademark or any confusingly similar mark as a trademark for your program or service, or use Our Heroes' TreeTrademarks in any manner that may cause confusion in the marketplace, including but not limited to advertising and collateral, Internet media (websites, facebook, Twitter, etc.), or event programming.
Below are the conditions for use by the general public of Our Heroes' Tree as a Trademark name, for which, as long as you are in compliance with all items, no advance written permission is necessary.Use is permitted only if all four conditions are met:
The name Our Heroes' Tree is used only in conjunction with promoting and hosting a program or event that features or includes Our Heroes' Tree, a community engagement program created by Stephanie Pickup and Marlene Lee, and
The name Our Heroes' Tree must be used in full and cannot be modified (for example, do not abbreviate the name), and
Program or event organizers send an e-mail stating the host name (organization, company, etc.) and date for Our Heroes' Tree program or event to: heroprogram @ gmail.com or alternatively, post the information on the facebook page Our Heroes' Tree, and
Program or event organizers cite and credit Stephanie Pickup and Marlene Lee, in customary and usual collateral (i.e., marketing, advertising, event literature, in all media), in a point size no smaller than 10 point and in the Arial font or similar font, as stated:
Our Heroes' Tree created by Stephanie Pickup and Marlene Lee
Our Heroes' Tree logo (blue tree, gold star, red lettering, and service mark) and the brand tagline Reflect, Remember, Rejoice are used solely by Our Heroes' Tree, LLC, and use or replication is not granted for the general public with two exceptions:
Our Heroes' Tree logo and brand tagline appear on each page of Our Heroes' Tree Guidelines, and permission is granted to copy the Guidelines for event planning and implementation.
Our Heroes' Tree logo appears on the Invitation poem for Our Heroes' Tree, and permission is granted to embed the logo without alteration on the invitation.
Our Heroes' Tree, LLC, is not responsible for your events, outcomes, media exposure, etc. Please be aware that Federal law obligates trademark owners to monitor their marks and prevent the use of confusingly similar names by third parties. We reserve the right to modify the Trademark and Logo Usage and Guidelines at any time. It is the user's responsibility to check for updates.
In case of discrepancy, the Trademark rules on the program home site take precedence: www.ourheroestree.com
PLANNING YOUR EVENT
Our Heroes' Tree THEMES. Reflect. Remember. Rejoice.
BE CREATIVE. Our Heroes' Tree stands for more than traditional seasonal holidays. Get with the program and host Our Heroes' Tree on Veterans' Day or Valentine's Day.Our Heroes' Tree is easily adapted for use by deployed units to honor families back home as well as in tribute to the wounded/injured and the fallen.
BUDGET. Some groups have been successful asking local merchants or organizations to donate goods (e.g., tree, flags) or services (e.g., musical performance).
PLAN. Give yourself time to plan and prepare. The recommended duration for Our Heroes' Tree program is one to two hours. Consider variables, such as group size and composition, location, and travel distances, and adjust the time accordingly. Also consider scheduling time at least one week prior to the program to make ornaments, prepare photographs, etc., and to host a reading of Stephanie Pickup's The Soldier's Tree at a library, school, or community center, and for drawing Hero Pages from Marlene Lee's The Hero in My Pocket. Both authors' books are available via Amazon.com, Target.com, and www.ourheroestree.com/.
Our Heroes' TreeDECORATIONS. Position American flags at the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions on upper tree branches. Place one large bow of yellow ribbon approximately 3-6 inches from the top of the tree with ribbon length streaming to the lower tree branches. Use only white lights, not colored lights, to symbolize a silent salute to those who have lost their lives. Refer to the Guidelines for more detail on planning and decorating.
ANNOUNCE. Reach your audience using traditional and new media: newspapers, websites, facebook, and even Twitter for announcements. Download the complete Our Heroes' Tree Guidelines for an easy-to-use invitation.
ENGAGE. Extend your community outreach based on the unique needs of your organization or community. Some groups invite Veterans to speak, host book readings and signings, and even sponsor blood drives.
PROGRAM SAMPLE TIMELINE. Below is a sample timeline for Our Heroes' Tree.
3:30 to 3:45 p.m.Hang ornaments
Decorate Hero Pages from The Heroin My Pocket 3:45 to 4:00 p.m.Welcome (5 minutes)
Pledge of Allegiance (5 minutes)
Patriotic song (group sing, 5 minutes)
4:00 to 4:25 p.m.Dedication of Our Heroes' Tree *Remarks from Host about sharing the bonds of service, separation, and loss. * Join in a moment of silence to remember those who are serving, those who have served, and those whose lives have been lost. * Selected guests hang their ornaments. * Encourage attendees to share a story about their ornament and loved one with another attendee during social time to follow.
4:25 to 4:45 p.m.Reading of The Soldier's Tree or performance of The Soldier's Tree: The Musical
4:45 to 5:00 p.m. Socializing and Refreshments
SEEDS OF CREATIVITY
McBride
Elementary School, Ft. Benning, GA, dedicated Our Heroes' Tree to families, then soldier moms and
dads carried family ornaments with them to Iraq.
Rhode
Island Governor Donald and Mrs. Carcieri's tradition of hosting Our Heroes' Tree in the State
Capitol in conjunction with the Rhode
Island National Guard, allows citizens from all over the State to
participate. Schoolchildren received lessons in civics, history, and more.
Purdue
University's Military Family Research Institute engaged
community and military libraries in Indiana,
30 other states, and 9 countries to honor Veterans' Day with Our Heroes' Tree.MFRI created educational literature, posters, bookmarks, and a Virtual Our Heroes' Tree via their
website: www.mfri.purdue.edu.
Currituck
BBQ Restaurant, Currituck, NC, honors its local firefighters and police
officers with Our Heroes' Tree
because many dual-serve in the community and the National Guard and Reserve.
www.currituckbbq.com
At the United
States Military Academy, prior to dedicating the inaugural Our Heroes' Tree in 2005, West PointElementary School invited Stephanie
Pickup to read her book, The Soldier's Tree,
to all of its classes.
Rogers
Elementary School, Fairhaven, MA, lined their gymnasium with yellow
construction paper, creating a yellow ribbon for Our Heroes' Tree for Veterans' Day, and fostering
understanding that military children serve, too.
Princeton
(West Virginia)
Public Library received far-reaching community support when they hosted Our Heroes' Tree.
1st
Armored Division families in Friedburg,
Germanydecorated 11 Our Heroes' Tree outdoors
with 2,000 ornaments. Morale soared as families watched their soldiers downrange
via a large-screen videocast.
ABOUT
OUR HEROES' TREE
Our Heroes' Tree, a community engagement program co-founded in 2005 by Stephanie Pickup and Marlene Lee, promotes awareness of the service and sacrifice of U.S. service members and their families.
With the themes of Reflect, Remember, Rejoice, the program is inclusive of all branches of service, all components -- Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve, and all generations.
Stephanie Pickup, Co-founder, Our Heroes' Tree
Stephanie Pickup helped her young children through her husband's two Army deployments overseas during the holidays; she also led an Army Family Readiness Group for more than two years.
Based on her own experiences as an Army spouse, Stephanie, a writer and mother of four, authored The Soldier's Tree, a book for children (ages 3-6 years) whose loved one is deployed during holiday time. Stephanie's charming story and colorful illustrations are sure to comfort and encourage children as they make, decorate, and celebrate their very own soldier's tree.
Website for TAO Army Kids Publishing: www.taopublishing.com
Marlene Lee, Co-founder, Our Heroes' Tree
Inspired by her volunteer work with injured soldiers and their family members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Marlene Lee authored The Hero in My Pocket, a keepsake book for children (ages 6-12 years) affected by the loss of a service member.
With a master's degree in Thanatology (death, dying, and bereavement studies), Marlene designed Hero to help facilitate communication among children and adults on the difficult topic of grief and recovery. Marlene co-authored That's My Hope, a story of inspiration and resilience for families who have experienced trauma, illness, or injury.
Website for Early Light Press: www.earlylightpress.com
For more information, visit the home site for Our Heroes' Tree: www.ourheroestree.com
Thank you to Nick Francis, franchise studios, for designing the beautiful logo for Our Heroes' Tree.
