Tina Keeling, representing the national Stars for Our Troops organization, gave veterans star packets made from retired American flags to veterans and their families at the Blackfoot High School Veterans Day program on Veterans Day.

Keeling, who is a registered starmaker, has been preparing these star packets to thank and honor veterans for the last five years. She first heard about the Stars for Our Troops organization in 2020 from her brother-in-law, who hands out star packets in the Las Vegas casinos where he works.

Armed with a bag of 50 stars, Tina and her husband followed suit and passed out the stars at a Sturgis motorcycle rally they were embarking on. They handed out all the stars within the first two days of their two-week rally trip and found the experience “amazing and heartwarming.” Back at home, Keeling applied to be a starmaker so she would never again run out of stars to share.

As a star maker, this Firth resident first finds American flags that are ready to be retired. And not just any American flag. They must be made in America and be either 3-feet-by-5-feet or 4-feet-by-6-feet.

One of her greatest sources for flags is the Grand Teton Council Boy Scouts of America in Idaho Falls. The Scouts gather worn-out flags and let Keeling know where there is a collection for her to sort through. She has also gathered flags from the cities of Blackfoot and Shelley, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Idaho Falls and family and friends.

Once she has the flags, she officially retires the flags by declaring, “We retire these flags from service and pass the legacy of their stars to those who defended them.” Then she removes the blue field, cuts strips of stars and then cuts out individual stars in a pentagon shape.

Each pentagon is then bagged in a clear 2-inch-by-3-inch bag with the back side holding a note that says: “I am part of our American flag that has flown over the USA. I can no longer fly. The sun and winds caused me to become tattered and torn. Please carry me as a reminder that you are not forgotten.”

Each note ends with Keeling’s zip code and the organization’s web address: starsforourtroops.org. A recipient can track down their starmaker through the national site, if they desire. The Stars for Our Troops organization was started in 2010 in New York by Susan Wells, World War II veterans and their families.

Keeling has given the star packets to veterans, first responders, patriots and their families and continues to find this service a humbling privilege. To date, she has passed out over 18,000 star packets.