12-year-old raises awareness, funds for H2H

Courtney Smits is a typical 12-year-old in many ways. She likes to hang out with her friends. She giggles when talking about boys with them. And during a clean-up project at American Legion Post 55 in McDonough, Ga., she enjoyed splashing around in the sudsy water while she washed the wooden floors.

But in another way, Smits is by no means a normal 12-year-old. Her heroes are real heroes, not those in the sports or entertainment worlds who casually are given the title. Her heroes are America's men and women in uniform, men like her father and stepfather, women like her mother and stepmother.

That's what led Smits to become involved in The American Legion's Heroes to Hometowns program. Smits is one of the founders of Queens for Courage, a local organization made up of junior beauty pageant contestants who, through the pageants and other efforts, raise funds for the Heroes to Hometowns program.

"Courtney made the statement one time that just because these men and women lost an arm, leg or an eye, or they have (a traumatic brain injury) doesn't make them less of a person," said Molly Lenk, Smits' mother and a 23-year Army veteran. "She wanted to do something to make a difference, and raise awareness about what these men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are going through."

Smits comes from a military family. Her father, Phillip, was medically retired from Army Special Forces, while her stepmother is in the Air Force Reserve. And her stepfather, Army Col. John Lenk, is a Persian Gulf War veteran currently deployed in Iraq.

"My dad thinks this is really neat," Courtney said. "When he was in training, he broke his hip. He had to get a prosthetic hip. He thinks it's nice (that returning servicemembers) have some help when they come back home."

Courtney's fund-raising efforts have included a community tea party and a golf tournament, as well as using beauty pageants to draw attention to her cause. Her organization's Web site also solicits donations - of which 100 percent go to the Heroes to Hometowns program.

It was the Web that brought Queens for Courage and The American Legion together.

"Courtney was looking for a platform for her pageants, and she wanted to do something for the military," Molly said. "We did some research online and found out about the Heroes to Hometowns program. It was exactly what Courtney was looking for. This really was a kitchen-table idea."

The Queens for Courage also have worked with the USO to welcome servicemembers returning home or on leave; they've also attended a Wounded Warriors Banquet. Several other events are planned for the future.

Immediate Past Department of Georgia Commander Dale Barnett is impressed by Courtney's work. "To see an 11-year-old so committed to this project is one of the basic fundamentals of The American Legion," he said. "It's about supporting veterans and helping rehabilitate them. It's almost like she exemplifies the very purpose of The American Legion.

"I would love to see this program continue to grow and flourish in Georgia. Any time The American Legion can put out the message about any of our four pillars, is a positive thing. Courtney is a role-model student in her school and is a great example of providing selfless service."

The program has attracted more than local and Legion attention. Courtney has met Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, and her work garnered her the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Award as the top middle-school youth volunteer in the state. She received $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for four days of recognition events.

"It was pretty exciting knowing I did something that got national recognition," Courtney said. "Now, hopefully, I can find more sponsors and get more help."

Courtney said while her teachers were impressed with the award, her classmates didn't make a big deal out of it. "My friends don't really talk much about what I am doing," Courtney said. "But they don't have parents in the military. They don't know what it's like."

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