I am the proud mother of a Marine presently serving in Iraq. His name is Cpl. Ian Burns, MP/K-9. Ian was born in Maine and loves our beautiful state. During these incredibly troublesome times, the feeling of being powerless sometimes overwhelms me. What else can I do for my son? What can I do for the other Marines in his unit?

The thought came to me as I worried and wondered, how appropriate it would be to send Ian a taste of Maine?

I decided to call Poland Spring Water Corp. and was referred to their headquarters and the president of Nestle Corp., a gentleman named Kim Jeffrey. He took my call immediately, and we had a lengthy conversation about my son and my history of living in Maine.

I humbled myself and asked if the Poland Spring Corp. would consider sending a pallet of water to Iraq. He graciously replied that he “would see what he could do.”

Three weeks later I received a rare call from Ian in Iraq and he was thrilled to report that several pallets of bottled water had been sent to his unit, free, by Poland Spring Water Corp., along with baseball caps and Frisbees. I am grateful and relieved that someone listened to the call of a very worried mother and took action.

Sara Larouche, New Gloucester

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