StashSpace Provides Home Movies as a Gift to
Soldiers
 A Winthrop company that edits and
preserves videos has a free gift for the members
of U.S. armed forces serving in Iraq or
Afghanistan: 30 minutes with their friends and
families.
HomeMovie.Com has launched Operation Enduring
Love to honor the dedication and sacrifice of
service members and the families who support
them.
Families are invited to send a 30-minute home
video to the company. HomeMovie will convert it
to DVD and make it available online by password
to the service member, then mail back the video
tape free of charge, said Kirk Esmond,
communications consultant for the company.
The idea came to Michelle Larsen, wife of
HomeMovie.Com’s CEO, John Larsen, last month
while she was moved by the news about a new
parent who was serving in Iraq and missing some
of the most precious moments of her young
child’s life.
“Her first thought was, ‘There has to be
something we can do to help connect families
serving our country,’ ” John Larsen said.
Esmond said HomeMovie.Com assumes it will be
flooded with 30-minute video tapes from friends
and family of service members from throughout
the United States. But they’re ready, he said.
“We’re prepared to take on a 24-hour-a-day
operating schedule, and increase our employees,”
which now number 15, he said.
Jennifer Allen-Tate, marketing director for
HomeMovie.com, said the free offer will continue
throughout 2005 — partly so the company isn’t
immediately overwhelmed with video tapes — but
also to give families plenty of time to come up
with a quality home movie and record birthday
parties, holidays, or even plan special events
to create the video.
The company estimates that the endeavor will
cost about $250,000.
The company partnered with NoaNet, the
Okanogan County PUD and CenturyTel, which will
sponsor the cost of broadband fiber needed.
Chris Jenkins, a former U.S. Army Sergeant
paratrooper who now works for HomeMovie.Com,
said the offer is just a generous, heart-felt
gift.
“Being a soldier myself, it was kind of
incredible to see something like this take
shape,” he said. “I still have buddies with
boots in Iraq. ... This one guy I’ve known for
eight years, he’s really excited about it. He
missed the birth of his first son,” he said.
K.C. Mehaffey
March 7, 2005
Wenatchee World
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