12/3/2003 -- Crutchfield To Ship Gifts To Troops

Crutchfield Ships Holiday Gifts to Soldiers in the Middle East

December 3, 2003 -- Charlottesville, Va. -- While U.S. soldiers continue their service in the Middle East, many of them will be able to enjoy an "appreciation" package of consumer electronics for the holiday season. Working with several of its vendors, Crutchfield Corp. will ship approximately $18,500 in entertainment products to a "rest and relaxation" facility in Kuwait.
"This is one small way of expressing our gratitude to all the soldiers for their sacrifice in defending freedom," founder and CEO Bill Crutchfield said.

Several manufacturers made substantial donations to the effort including: 100 MP3 players from Samsung; 50 rechargeable AAA battery four-packs from MonsterCable; a 20" flat-panel LCD TV from Sharp; a home theater receiver and speaker system from Onkyo; a Sony DVD player; and a Dell Inspiron laptop computer.

Bill Hamilton of the Crutchfield Information Technology department spearheaded the effort after speaking with members of the military about ways to show support for their work. A senior member of Crutchfield's IT department, Army Reserve Capt. Jeremy Sechler, is currently in Baghdad, where his unit provides logistics support. He is due to return to Kuwait on Dec. 15. David Weisman and Scott Anderson of the Crutchfield merchandising department helped to put the package of gifts together.

"We are delighted by the commitment of our employees and many fine vendors in this endeavor," Crutchfield said,