Neighborly Project Balloons to Heartfelt Thank You
News & Happenings
May 19, 2008
Lorie Gomez – preschool teacher, Sunday school teacher and mother of two – was on her way to the airport when she confided in her neighbor, fellow church member and TSA employee Mike Loy, that she was excited to be going to visit her husband, but anxious about leaving behind many outdoor chores at her home near colonial Williamsburg, Va.
Gomez' husband, U.S. Navy Capt. Lou Gomez, is on General David Petraeus' staff in Iraq and, thus, can travel only as far as Europe when he takes leave. Petraeus is the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
With Lorie on her way, Loy – son of former TSA Administrator James Loy – began thinking about the sacrifices the couple was making, with Lou in Iraq and Lorie teaching the neighbors' children while raising her own. He knew his friends would want to give back, too, so he began planning with them a project that quickly grew bigger than any of them had imagined.
In the end, 12 families from Lorie's preschool joined two families from her church and nine local companies to donate time and materials to make improvements to the home. They replaced gutters and downspouts; power washed the house; installed a sprinkler system for the yard; scheduled a re-sod of the entire yard (donated by a local company) with a year's lawn service; and re-landscaped the yard, which included a new front light and mailbox.
The centerpiece, and most poignant element upon Lorie's return, was installing a lighted, 20-foot flagpole in the front yard with U.S. and Navy-service flags.
"This happened because a lot of good people came together to make it happen," said Loy, a senior policy analyst at TSA. "It started with the idea of cleaning some gutters and quickly turned into an overwhelming outpouring of support for a family that has given so much to our community and country."
