April Guidon and her son Brett Guidon, who is a medic in the U.S. Air Force, are pictured. (Courtesy photo via Escanaba Daily Press)

ESCANABA — A resident is looking to bring a Blue Star Moms Chapter to the U.P.

April Guindon, of Escanaba, mother of AeroSpace Medical Service Journeyman Brett Guidon, is working to bring Blue Stars Mothers of America, Inc., to Escanaba.

The organization is a non-profit, non-partisan and non-sectarian organization that supports the military, veterans and families of fallen soldiers. Their mission is to support through service, and their members include mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, reserves, guard, or who are veterans.

BSMA started in 1942 in Michigan, when the Flint News Advertiser printed a coupon asking mothers of those serving to fill it out and return it. Over 1,000 responses were sent back, prompting the group to decide to form a permanent organization.

The organization quickly expanded to other states, and in 1960, the organization was chartered by Congress.

As recent as July 8, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bipartisan legislation that designates Feb. 1 as Blue Star Mother’s Day.

According to the BSMA website, there are 179 chapters across 39 states, including 15 in Mich., alone. However, the entire Upper Peninsula does not have a single chapter.

Guidon is in the process of changing that, working to have a chapter in Escanaba by August.

“I’ve always been very patriotic, but my oldest son joined the Air Force in 2019, and I looked around for a chapter in the Upper Peninsula then (and) there was not any,” Guidon said.

She said she contacted BSMA and found out what needed to be to be done to start a chapter, but with her youngest child still in school, she waited until she could devote more of her time and energy to the chapter.

Now, Guidon is ready to get the chapter started and is actively looking for members. She needs at least five members who are Blue Star moms — meaning they have children in the military — to fill the board seats. It cost $30 annually to be a member of the chapter.

The group even allows what are called associate members to join the chapter. Associate members may be spouses, siblings, extended family or even friends of military members.

Moms are encouraged to join the group as soon as their child has finished boot camp.

“I think it’ll be great to have this in the community because I tell you what that first year (when her son left for the military) was hard,” Guidon said.

She added that they can also reach out to the chapter while their child is in boot camp to get an idea of what their child is experiencing.

To find out more information about BSMA, visit www.bluestarmothers.org.

If you are interested in doing the chapter in Escanaba, reach out to Guidon at 906 399 7919, or via email at agpackersgirl@gmail.com.