FINAL UPDATE4: Ladies and Gentlemen, the results of the Above and Beyond Award won’t be officially released until 5 November. However, being the best website in the history of the internet (not counting the Family Ties page), I can say who at least ONE of the winners are. The winner of the USO Promotion and Success Award category is none other than…….PAULETTE!!!

UPDATE3: Voting has closed. Hopefully everyone had a chance to vote as many times as possible. Thank you for participating. We’ll announce the winners here when they are released on November 5th.

UPDATE2: Paulette has been featured on her local news. If THIS link doesn’t work, go to the main site and click on the Hometown Hero link.

UPDATE: SHE MADE IT!! Our good friend, Paulette, has become a finalist. Looking through the site, I also noticed another friend of ASP and the troops, Marty Horn. He runs AnySoldier.com. I also noticed Karen Stark, who runs the HUGS Project, to which I have sent money. Karen’s site also helped us by voting to earn us the $3000 that we donated to the Camp Lejeune Ballerinas. Helping her is a good way to give back.

Naturally, vote for who you think deserves it the most. I can personally vouch for these three individuals in those categories. There are five categories to vote in, so you don’t need to choose between those three. You can vote for each of them up to five times per IP address. Now, you’re probably asking yourself: “CJ, where do I vote?” You vote HERE. So get crackin’ and help those that really know how to support the troops. And please tell all your friends to vote too!!

I couldn’t help but notice that Code Pink wasn’t nominated. I thought they were huge troop supporters? Haven’t they gone above and beyond? BWAHAHAHA! (sorry, I couldn’t resist)

One of ASP’s good friends has been nominated for the Above and Beyond USO Promotion and Success Award. The award was created to “honor and thank the outstanding commitment, exceptional service, sacrifice and achievements of individuals who have shown extraordinary dedication in brightening the lives of the United States troops in 2007. Awards will be given to five individuals who help serve as a link between our troops and the American people through their selfless commitment to providing comfort and lifting the spirits of our troops, and their families, wherever they serve.”

Paulette is a HUGE supporter of our troops, much like many others that frequent here. She spends many hours volunteering at the USO and, to my knowledge, has not missed one homecoming or send off for troops near her hometown of Savannah, GA. You may remember I profiled a great story of hers called “2 Missed Calls“. Not only does she do everything she possibly can (I remember her putting up a few troops who were temporarily homeless after returning from Iraq in her house – with all their gear!!), but she is raising simply awesome children. I still have a “hero” certificate her kids sent me that was hand drawn and is hanging up in my office.

If she is selected to be a finalist, her story will be shared with the public and voted upon in the upcoming weeks. After the online vote is tallied, the chosen winners will be invited—airfare expenses paid— to New York City, on November 12, 2007. An Above and Beyond Awards Gala at the world-famous Rainbow Room will be held in honor of their exceptional winners as a part of the Microsoft Corp. and USO’s inaugural “Salute to Our Troops,” a private, complimentary performance of the 75th Celebration of the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular.”

I want to offer my personal congratulations and the collective congratulations of this site to Paulette for this extremely worthy nomination. We’re behind you 100% and will be voting as soon as we possibly can. We’ll keep everyone updated. For the record, it was Paulette who got me hooked on the Texas Roadhouse, believe it or not, and WOULDN’T LET ME PAY FOR MY OWN MEAL!!

Paulette is taking it all quite humbly. “The nomination has been humbling. But no award can measure what I get out of helping soldiers,” she said.