Article Contributed on: 2/2/2006 3:50:37 PM
Joe Rice, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve serving his second tour in Iraq, and candidate for the Colorado House of Representatives from District 38 in the southern suburbs of Denver, recently helped distribute 400 teddy bears to Iraqi children.
The stuffed bears, collected and shipped to Iraq by the Lakewood Kiwanis Club, brightened the holiday season for hundreds of Baghdad-area families.
“Every child should have a teddy bear, and we very much thank the Lakewood Kiwanis,” said Rice. “These things mean a lot in so many ways.”
Rice, the former two-term mayor of Glendale, has been using his civic expertise to serve in the office of Army Lessons Learned. His final report, following four months of first-hand research and observation, will help the United State and local officials in their quest to establish a functioning Iraqi government.
Rice expects to be released from active duty in late February and hit the campaign trail upon returning home.
The Rice campaign will hold a Welcome Home/Campaign Kickoff Party March 11, from 6-8 p.m., at the Riverfront Event Center in Littleton, at the southwest corner of Santa Fe and Bowles.