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Last Friday, Nov. 7, nearly 800 stockings were filled and then sent off to be shipped to soldiers, mainly stationed in the Middle East.

“We do this in conjunction with the Blue Star Moms. We’ve done this for many years,� MJES Instructional Coach Tammy Shipley said. “We do this every two years because it takes us a while to gather the stockings.�

Each class came out one at a time so as to not congest the hallway and not interrupt instructional time. Each child goes around in a single file line, not unlike a Trunk or Treat.. Blue Star Moms, some of the school teachers and some Wilson County Schools officials also took part in the project.

“It’s an assembly line creating happiness for our military members who can’t be here for the holidays,� WCS Public Information Officer Bart Barker said, also calling it “Operation Holiday Cheer.�

“Blue Star Moms put this together. When you’re in the military and not home, you begin to wonder if people back home forgot about you,� WCS Board Chair Joseph Padilla, a veteran, said. “Getting these remind soldiers that their families are thinking about them. It helps them remember that what they’re doing is worth it.�

Padilla said he received care packages during his time serving and that it doesn’t matter what’s inside them, the thought of it is what impacts soldiers the most.

Mt. Juliet Police officers and troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol assisted by handing out the stockings to each child and lifting the boxes full of filled stockings to where the shipping information is filled out before being transported to a postal annex.

“This is what we do, this is serving,� MJPD Capt. Jason Brockman said. “We’re servants of the community. These relationships are what make Mt. Juliet special.�

Blue Star Moms are moms of active military members, although some whose children have retired from active duty are still a part of the organization.

Reba Baltz, one of the organizers of Stockings for Soldiers, started the event because of her son, Danie.

“We started this 22 years ago. We’ve done it every other year since,� Baltz said. “We did an extra one last year at a different school, though.�

The extra stocking stuffing was for the Tennessee National Guard.

Another reason it’s done every two years is to not “overwhelm the soldiers with too much of a good thing,� according to Baltz.

Depending on where the recipients are, it’ll take up to two months for the stockings to be delivered.

Shipley, who is also a former kindergarten teacher, and Baltz are the two primary organizers for Stockings for Soldiers. Shipley said many of the recipients will send back letters of appreciation and pictures of themselves with the stockings enjoying the goods inside.

MJES Principal Angela Kincaid assisted in keeping everything orderly and checking in on the other kindergarten classrooms to let them know when it was their turn. This is her sixth year as principal and the third year of the stocking stuffing.

“Whatever [the Blue Star Moms] need, we just open our school up for them,� Kincaid said. “It’s an honor doing this.�