WATERLOO -- Thank-you notes from Iowa soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan have poured into Julie Ehlers' inbox since the Iowa's Bravest appreciation packages were mailed out last month.

Some soldiers, like Sgt. 1st Class John Mclean, offered their thanks for the gifts and signed off. Others, like Sgt. Larry Beilke, thanked Ehlers and the hundreds of volunteers for their time and even sent pictures of the soldiers enjoying their loot.

"Thank you so much for all the nice gifts and goodies. All the Iowans couldn't believe all the nice stuff," Beilke wrote. "And better yet, the people from the other states that are here said 'Gee, those Iowans really take care of their soldiers!!!' You guys made me proud."

This year Iowa's Bravest volunteers packed and shipped 225 appreciation boxes for Iowa soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The goodies inside were valued at more than $24,000, and the postage cost another $5,800.

In six years the project, organized by a group of John Deere Waterloo employees and other volunteers, has sent more than 2,450 boxes filled with 25 tons of goodies to Iowa soldiers.

Ehlers enjoys reading the notes she receives and passes them along.

"It brings me so much joy knowing that we are truly making a difference. It also makes me smile when they share with the other soldiers from other states that aren't quite as generous as we are from Iowa," Ehlers said. "They say we make them proud, and I assure you that we are all proud of them too … Our soldiers and their families are making a huge sacrifice for all of us and we are forever grateful."

This year, Ehlers also sent along some copies of a slide show so the soldiers could see firsthand the volunteers who put together the packages.

"It makes us all very proud of all the people and hope they all did not miss too much time away from their own family to take care of us," wrote 1st Lt. Sheldon Klein. "We have also received all of the Christmas cards and have them in our company area with our stockings. All the support has really kept all the soldiers working hard knowing they and their families are thought of, especially during the holidays."

U.S. Army Maj. Beth Behn, a native of Cedar Falls, was the most popular soldier at Camp Echo the day her Iowa's Bravest box arrived. It was one of five boxes from home, including another that contained a University of Northern Iowa banner, which now hangs in the mess hall. Behn said a small crowd gathered around her for an impromptu box-opening ceremony.

"Getting through all the tape to get into the box was a major chore, but the contents were impressive," Behn wrote in an e-mail to her parents, which was forwarded on to Ehlers. "It was really neat to receive the pictures of the packing process (contained in box #4) at the same time as we were opening box #5. What a great project. I can hardly believe they packed that many boxes in so short a time. Sounds like a well-organized machine. … The box was a huge hit. I wore the John Deere hat around for most of the day."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.