It’s in the cards

 

Clarence Giles

Monitor Staff

Marie Moore likes “discovering new places,” and she may have found one that could lead to a new line of Hallmark Greeting cards.

A relative newcomer to the United States, she’s lived in El Paso for the last six years. The recently retired Canadian journalist and television producer, who helped at last month’s Amigo Airsho, ended up flexing her “community muscles” in an effort to get Hallmark, one of the largest greeting card companies in the country, to consider starting a line of cards that acknowledge and honor America’s military men and women.

“My husband and I arrived in the U.S. just six years ago but have been knocked over by the commitment made to the American military by so many fine men and women,” said Moore. “With all of the Americans involved in campaigns all over the world, we could not imagine that such a savvy company had not developed a product to honor their service.”

A recent experience she had when looking for a card for the son of a neighbor put her “gifting gears” into overdrive. 

“Recently, a neighbor of mine hosted a ‘good luck’ barbecue for her son, who was deploying to Afghanistan,” said Moore, who wanted to share a sentiment with the young man. But, there was no card that specifically showcased military pride, bravery and esprit de corps.

When she couldn’t find a card dedicated to military men and women, she fired off her observation to Hallmark for customer request via their internal customer service website. 

“The only way it’s going to grow is if a lot of people appeal to Hallmark by calling their toll-free number at 1-800-HALLMARK, and citing incident # 100916-000556,” said Moore. “They can add their request to mine and with a flood of calls, we just might see a specially designed card to send to our loved ones for Christmas.

“Hallmark will probably do a couple at a time as they’ve indicated. It won’t be a huge endeavor, but they will cover birthdays, inspirational, thank you and Christmas cards,” she continued. 

 Asked if she thought she was being used as an idea source, Moore said, “That was not the intention, but I would refer them to the post. I’m not really looking for a position; I just want to be able to fill the store and buy cards for military personnel,” she said.

She explained why this meant so much to her. 

“I come from a country where there is very little emphasis put on the military,” she said. “[The neighbor’s] brother deployed to Afghanistan, her son is following in the brother’s footsteps. That was really an eye-opener to realize that people are so committed. I’m most impressed because their families are put on hold by joining the military. I’m very impressed by that. I simply went to the card store to show my appreciation, and now it’s grown into this.”