Tyrone man honored for helping combat troops

A Tyrone, Ga., man who created a nonprofit to help U.S. soldiers in combat, will be among 30 people honored as everyday heroes at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in St. Louis, on July 14.

After his younger brother Evan was deployed to Iraq, Ryan Housley created HeroBox, (go to HeroBox.org) a service to send gift-boxes overseas customized to the needs of individual soldiers.

Housley was chosen for the All-Star honor by readers of People magazine, who sent in more than half a million votes at PeopleAllStars.com to choose from among 90 finalists.

Voters picked one winner for each Major League baseball team. All 30 winners will attend the game, where President Barack Obama will throw out the opening pitch.

One lucky “All-Star” will be featured in People magazine the week of the All-Star game. Housley, a former software salesman, said “the feedback we get from the soldiers, it makes you want to cry sometimes, it’s so awesome.”

Bo Emerson