By Steve Huffman
shuffman@salisburypost.com
ROCKWELL ó Rodney Cress got a call Tuesday morning telling him that Filltech Inc., a Rockwell firm, wanted to donate some lip balm to the troops in Iraq.
Cress, a Vietnam War veteran who earlier this year organized a collection of books for troops overseas, said he’d be happy to pick up the balm and see that it made it to service men and women.
What Cress didn’t realize is that Filltech was donating 27,000 tubes of the balm.
“They asked if I’d come by and pick up some ChapStick. I said, ‘Yeah,’ ” Cress said. “Good Lord, I didn’t know it was going to weigh 800 pounds.”
And then Cress laughed.
The supply of lip balm that he picked up consisted of 62 boxes. The sizes of the boxes varied, but they all contained several hundred individual tubes of balm.
It weighed down the bed of Cress’ pickup.
Scott Hughes, president of Filltech’s Rockwell office, said the company wanted to donate the lip balm to the military. He said employees of the business had read that lip balm was one of the most sought-after items among troops in Iraq.
But Hughes said when his firm contacted the National Guard about donating the lip balm, no one seemed interested.
“I guess they’re too busy,” he said.
Hughes said Lee Godfrey, one of the firm’s employees and a Rockwell firefighter, had read a story about Cress’ book drive and passed along the information to Hughes. Hughes thought Cress might be able to get the lip balm to the troops in Iraq and told Godfrey to contact him.
“We were happy to do it,” Hughes said. “We wanted to get it in the hands of someone who could get it moved overseas.”
Hughes said the company manufactures its own brand of lip balm and also custom-fills containers for some national brands.
He said a tube’s wholesale price is about $1 and its retail price is roughly double that, meaning Filltech made a minimum donation of $27,000 to the military.
Hughes said Dennis Jones is the chairman of Filltech and Cookie Jones heads the firm’s department of design. Both support donating supplies to the troops, Hughes said. The firm is headquartered in Chesapeake, Va.
Cress, who often speaks to groups concerning the rights of veterans, said he knows from his days in the military that little essentials like lip balm mean a lot to troops. In Iraq, where summertime highs can exceed 120 degrees, such products are especially sought after.
“The troops love ’em,” Cress said of tubes of lip balm. “They have to have ’em.”
Getting the tubes to the troops has become a top priority for Cress, who said he’d like to see them delivered by Christmas.
He has contacted Sen. Richard Burr’s office about having the lip balm sent to Iraq and is awaiting word. Cress also contacted the N.C. National Guard Family Readiness Program in Raleigh and is hoping to hear from them soon.
“I’ll pay myself to have them shipped if I have to,” Cress said.
But he’s hoping it doesn’t come to that.
Cress said he’s also looking to perhaps donate the lip balm to various military support groups that could have it shipped.
Meanwhile, Cress is willing to donate 50 tubes of lip balm to anyone who can provide proof they’ve got a loved one serving in the military in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Cress said individuals can get smaller boxes of the lip balm shipped to the troops at a cheaper price than it would cost him.
He invited anyone with troops overseas to contact him at 704-213-1312. Cress said his wife, Millie, is a vice president at First Bank at 1525 S. Jake Alexander Blvd.
Once it’d been confirmed that an individual has a loved one serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, they could pick up their box of lip balm at First Bank.