Bags of baked goodies carry 'taste of home'

  • Published
  • By Mary Lou Gorny
  • Hilltop Times editor
HILL AIR FORCE BASE --  All the right ingredients to deliver a "taste of home" were assembled Dec. 17 as more than 40 volunteers took fresh baked cookies and candy canes and put them in bags decorated with holiday cheer at the Airman and Family Readiness Center.

The cookie drive for the dormitories and Hill Airmen brought out Christmas elves of all kinds as active duty, Reserve, civilians and family members helped out. More than 620 dozen cookies were already pledged and several additional unpledged dozens of cookies just showed up.

With baking and assembly, donations and organization, Kay Zobrist said, wife of Col. Scott Zobrist, 388th Fighter Wing commander, said, "More than 100 volunteers made this happen." She said that because of all the great support it had been decided to include the George E. Wahlen Veterans Home in Ogden as well.

"We really enjoy great community support from the Top of Utah and the cookie drive is just another example of how they always rise to the occasion and help us out," Zobrist said. "At the last minute we thought it would be nice to have candy canes, but we would need 620," she said.

"Poof," said Barb Hill, cookie drive coordinator. "They came in the door."

Zobrist said that when the appeal went out for cookie bakers, a base contractor's wife contacted organizers and asked if it would be OK if her church group provided 45 dozen.

Mayor Steve Curtis of Layton came to the Airman and Family Readiness Center on Friday to help with assembly of the cookies made from ready-to bake dough.

The option was available for anyone to deliver their own home baked cookies, if they would bring a minimum of three dozen. All they had to do was call in to coordinator Amy Hollis, ahead of time and make the pledge.

Christine Theaker coordinated the activities of those willing to take ready-to-bake cookie dough.

Hill said people came off of midnight shift the morning of the drive and then showed up at the door at 6:30 a.m. "Talk about dedication," she said.

They helped bring in the baked cookies delivered to the center parking lot that morning. Many others worked in the kitchen and assembly lines later.

The cookies got an extra bit of holiday cheer with all the decorations put on the bags provided by the children through the education coordinators at the Base Chapel.

Hill said even the little ones helped put stickers on the bags.

When the decision was made to add the veterans' home to the list, Hill said that some previous helpers got in on the act again to decorate some of the bags at the last minute.

The bags were delivered that same day to the dorms and the veterans home, said Chief Master Sgt. Atticus Smith, 388th Fighter Wing.

Among other contributors, Zobrist said that CSU Food Service donated fifteen cases of cookie dough to the effort -- 20 dozen cookies -- and Master Sgt. Kristopher Kiger corralled the containers from the commissary.