Troops at The Mudhouse, Camp Taji, Iraq

main reason we’re gathering though is to reunite with friends, loved-ones, and American traditions. Traditions that we all enjoy because of the great country we live in. Our soldiers played and play an important part in that tradition.

Memorial Day is a day when Americans pay tribute to those who have died in service and those that serve today. I know I will be cheering on my 90-year-old great-uncle tomorrow as he walks with the rest of the Veterans and thinking about those that are not there to march.

Here at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters we too honor our soldiers. As I’m sure many of you have heard from service men and women is the importance of coffee while in the field; especially good coffee. It is a comfort from home and a small luxury while on duty.

That is why we donate thousands of pounds of coffee to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan every year. We work with a great organization called Holy Joe’s Café, that provides coffee in a café setting at bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers can go to the cafés for spiritual guidance from the Chaplains, listen to music on open mic nights, or just enjoy a great cup of Green Mountain Coffee’s Dark Magic.

Thank you from Troops in Baghdad, Iraq

When our very own Vermont National Guard deployed to Afghanistan late last year, we knew that the comforts from Vermont that they would miss would include maple syrup and Green Mountain Coffee. Again, working with Holy Joe’s Café, every Vermont National Guard Chaplain has received coffee which will find its way into the hands of the Green Mountain Boys.

Thank you Holy Joe’s for helping us make an impact in our soldiers’ lives as they make a sacrifice for us. For updates from Holy Joe’s you can follow them on Twitter.

How are you honoring our military woman and men this weekend? Have you sent Green Mountain Coffee or other comforts from home to those serving in the military?

[printed with permission from Graham Wingate]

Hello,

This past weekend I escaped to the green mountains to disconnect from day to day chaos of living in the city.  My twin brother and I retreated to the beautiful wilderness of Stockbridge, Vermont.  It was a great reminder of where I came from, and the overall splendor of the Vermont’s beauty.  Growing up in rural North Troy, Vermont, the home of many blue collar natives the nostalgic feeling of what it was like to be a Vermonter had taken control of me once again.  I remembered all of the jobs that I had done throughout my years, and more importantly; I remembered what kept me going each day while working these jobs, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.  I remember specifically one job, and that was when I worked concrete construction for an outfit out of Derby, Vermont.  One of the jobs that I’ll never forget was when I was going back to do some final touch-ups on the concrete flooring in the GMCR location in Waterbury, Vermont.  The aroma of your coffee was majestic, and it made my days quite pleasureable despite having to sweat through the grunt work.  As you may know, the weekend was spectacular (weather-wise), and my brother was able to snap a great shot of me relaxing, enjoying my Green Mountain Coffee while I contemplated my upbringing as a Vermonter.  Though I now live and work in the Boston area, I turn my nose up at any other coffee but GMCR.  I simply wanted to share my story and picture with you as a mere token of my appreciation for your great coffee and company.  Thanks.

The President’s Day holiday weekend is typically one of the busiest skiing and riding weekends at resorts across Vermont.  This year proved to be no different, as thousands of visitors chose to learn what those of us who live here have known for generations — for winter sports in the East, you just can’t beat what Vermont has to offer.  We’ve been a little light on the white stuff so far this season, but all the ski areas were geared up, groomed, and ready to go nonetheless.

To join in the fun, we had a sampling team take to the slopes at Killington, where they dispensed hundreds of samples of, among other offerings, our delicious Fair Trade Winter seasonals — Wicked Winter Blend and Golden French Toast.  Many of the samples came from K-Cups, brewed on the spot using Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewers.

Many more samples were distributed by mobile brand ambassadors, armed with special beverage-dispensing backpacks.  This intrepid coffee infantry was able to bring fresh, hot Green Mountain Coffee right to folks in lift lines and around the base lodges…right where people needed it most.

You know what they say about Vermont — it’s ten months of winter and two months of really poor sledding.  So don’t worry if you haven’t made it up here to frolic in nature’s playground yet this winter, there’s still plenty of time to do so.

See you on the slopes….

So, as I said, nutty.

But today a true depiction of our holiday wackiness made itself apparent in a little something called Ugly Christmas Sweaters.  Everyone has one and some wear them in public – even in our office.

May I present our top two favorites?  To ease you into the ugliness, our silk-screened runner-up:

Nicole modeling the “Christmas Goodies” sweatshirt and antlers.

Then there’s The Ugly Christmas Sweater.  Yes, “The” Ugly Christmas Sweater – a piece of red, green, and tinseled apparel so hideous that it deserves its own zip code, let alone a “The” in front of its name.  It’s hard to describe this lovely woolen beauty, so let’s hear from Chris, the wearer of this repugnant sweater, as he describes his auction find:

The events committee of my graduate program decided to use a “tacky holiday sweater theme” for our annual winter gathering and give a prize to the person with the ugliest sweater…guess who won?

Chris modeling his Scottish terror/pom-pom/stuffed reindeer/tinsel attire AKA The Ugly Christmas Sweater.

Happy Holidays from us!  Hope you find beauty in the holidays – even when events are as homely as our sweater collection!

-Kristen

Visit your nearest convenience store that serves Green Mountain Coffee and earn discounts on ski lift tickets, daily prizes and enter to win a grand prize of a $2500 Vermont Ski Weekend!  While you’re there, get an entry code and visit our Rewards Site to rack up virtual ‘cups.’

• Earn 10 cups and you’ll get $15 OFF a lift ticket at one of the 14 participating Ski Vermont resort locations.
• Plus, every entry is another chance to win the grand prize ski vacation and lift tickets, or a Rossignol Raider bag, courtesy of Ski Vermont.

Visit one of the 2000 convenience stores that are participating in the Green Mountain Coffee Rewards program.

For more information, please visit our Green Mountain Coffee Rewards site.   Good luck and happy skiing!