Laurel Elementary School Suprise Visit

School Principal MeLinda Lee was beyond words as she walked into the media room and saw Sergeant Thomas Ballard Jr. standing there surrounded by the media and second grade teacher Melissa Maher and her class.

During the year, students and faculty at the school had been writing Ballard and his squadron in Iraq. Over the last week, school staff members kept the gathering a secret from Lee because they wanted to surprise her. Her staff, students and parents collected items, wrote letters and sent cookies to Ballard's squadron while he was stationed in Iraq.

“I felt honored that we [Laurel Elementary] were able to acknowledge soldiers in Iraq, and that we were able to give the soldiers in Iraq something to look forward to," Lee said.