The mascot was actually the brainchild of Tacoma FD's, Karen Leming. But the original idea never came to fruition. Karen had a small troll doll in firefighter garb. We would take it on the tour with us.

The firefighters rode him around with them in their rigs, but then a few days before we took off, the troll vanished ... POOF! Turns out one of the firefighters was kind of creeped out by trolls, and he threw it out. Sigh.

As on many occasions, we had to think on the fly. We went to our local Build-a-Bear, found the perfect little bear, and dressed him in a combined fire/police/troop uniform. He looked great, but what to call him?

It was time to make the final vehicle arrangements, at Hertz. Stopping by Starbucks, it dawned that by combining the names of our first two supporters, we had a name synonymous with the very thing we needed for this effort. We were issued a Ford for the tour, and it was all for the troops. Hmmm ...

Everything happens for a reason, right? Thus was born, SHertz Forda Troops. SHertz was an instant hit. And before we knew it, he was collecting pins and badges from the departments we visited on the Highways to Heroes Tour.

He came back weighing about 6 pounds. He did amazing photo ops ... He was rescued from the top of the Tacoma Dome in a full high angle rescue drill ... He was rescued from the top of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD ... He was rescued from the top of the bull on the Puyallup Fairgrounds. And he brought lots of smiles, to young and old.

SHertz retired after his year of duty, and now resides in the Fort Lewis Army Museum, on permanent display. You can go visit him there.

The patriarch of our mascots came to be by accident. We didn't always have a mascot.

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Sharen SHertz & Stunt Bear

Next up was our femme fatale duo. Sharen & Stunt Bear rocked the "Around the World in 30 Days" tour.

Sharen batted her lustrous eyelashes, and opened every door she approached. Meanwhile Stunt Bear took on every formidable challenge, with style & grace.

Sharen's uniform was made with love and attention to detail, by original Core Team member, Aris Caron.

Sharen had great times on the tour, and children across the country fell in love with her.

Stunt Bear was created specifically after the Billings Firefighters asked if they could shoot SHertz out of a potato gun. The answer was, no, by the way. Stunt Bear's job was well, to do the stunts, to be the body double for Sharen.

Along the way there were some moments of contention between the two, and a feud of sorts was begun.

But Stunt Bear never refused a challenge, and even took a bullet to protect her beloved Sharen when she wandered too close to the firing range in Sarnia, Ontario. Fortunately medical personnel was on site and Stunt Bear walked away with just a hole and a bandage.

The spudinator in Billings was different. It blew the stuffing right out of her! Sharen took great care of her, and both finished their year-long tour of duty as the closest of friends.

Sharen now resides in the Columbia Fire Museum, in Columbia, SC.

And our intrepid Stunt Bear found a fitting retirement home with her friends at the Billings Fire Department.

You can check out Sharen & Stunt Bear's Journal page for more great photos and a little note from Sharen & Stunts.

Chief & Rookie

These two played very well off each other. Every year we come up with a new mascot ... and a "stunt bear".

This year we wanted to pay tribute to a guy who supported us very clearly, behind the scenes.

We named our Chief, for retired Tacoma BC, Jim Hannity. Jim was the man responsible for the amazing sendoff event that hails the start of the annual tour.

The first year we had a Fife PD car lead us out, with 2 fire rigs behind us. As we crossed Fife city limits on I-5, two Tacoma PD vehicles took over, front and aft. My eyes had tears, it was just so perfect, and so unexpected.

The next year, when I approached TFD, Chief Hannity shot us down, and said the rigs could not do the procession. I was not happy with him, and couldn't understand why he would do this. (Something about regs. Sigh.)

So we left with the TPD and Washington State Patrol escorting us. No rigs led, or followed. It was a sad moment. Then ... Such a sight ... As we approached the overpasses, we saw fire personnel with their rigs, and flags, and firefighters! Our beloved TFD had stepped up in the most perfect way! Cars honked, people waved, and this lil Washington State effort for America was sent off in proper style.

The sendoff has grown, and we have named it "Hannity's Crossing" to honor him. This year, nearly every overpass for a 20 mile span of I-5 through Pierce County had fire personnel on it. The procession as led by the motorcycle cops from Tacoma and Lakewood. The State Patrol was next, followed by the tour van, the TFD BC rig, and police vehicles from outlying communities, including, Dupont, Yelm, Lacey, Roy, Puyallup, Steilacoom, and more. The overpasses were no longer just TFD, but a mixture of departments from across Pierce County. Washington State always shows her heart for our troops, and Hannity's Crossing proves it!

Sadly, Chief Jim Hannity died in September of 2007. The last thing we did, was to send him photos and the stories of the adventures of the little brown bear who bears his name.

Our Chief is laden with pins, badges, and much more. He is much loved, and still on his tour of duty for the troops.

His sidekick ... What is a Chief without a Rookie? Is named just that.

And where the Chief gets honors, and respect, and adoration. The Rookie, well ... The Rookie get his tail kicked! (And sometimes shot, run over, or chopped off.) Never fear, these are highly trained stunt bears, who lived for danger.

At the end of his run, Chief will retire to the Tacoma Fire Department. Rookie will appropriately retire to the Bates Fire Tech Services, in Tacoma ... where so many of the rookies come from.

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Sgt. Reggie T. SHertz -- Our Canadian mascot

*Reported by Canadian Ambassador, Kevin McHarg

FYI: Reggie is short for Regiment.

While scouring the internet looking for an appropriate Canadian mascot to represent Hero To Hero, I happened upon a wholesaler out in Langley British Columbia who had the perfect representative of Canada.

He's an integral part of Canadian history, then and now.

He's brave, fearless, handsome, rugged, can ride a horse, he knows which way the snowshoes point, and he looks good in red.

By conventional standards, he is a little short. But they removed height requirements from the hiring process years ago. You can't discriminate based on height!

I contacted the company and asked where to find the closest distributor of their stuffed animals ... I explained, of course, what H2H was about.

The next thing I know, there was an e-mail saying that a dozen of their stuffed RCMP Officer Moose (Sergeant Bullmoose as he's known to them) were on their way to us -- Free of charge!

We salute STUFFED ANIMAL HOUSE of Langley, British Columbia for their support of our troops through their generous donation to Hero To Hero. http://www.stuffedanimalhouse.com/

We LOVE your inputs and ideas and are always open to new suggestions. The following shows you how we look for your participation in our selections ... *BTW, the one on the left won.

Who will be the new mascots for H2H '08?

Well, we can tell you this. We know they will be females. We know they will come from Build-a-Bear. And we know the names we have in mind for them.

Your votes have been tallied. Thank you to all who voted.