Butch & Lud with the first Payson Supply Line box - going to SSG Jason Watson, Iraq, in January 2005

We began our mission in January of 2005.  The Payson Supply Line is a Christian based 501(c)(3) organization with four Officers:  Butch Klein, President; Lud Kaftan, Vice President; Marian Kaftan, Treasurer; and Kathy Klein, Secretary.  We are all volunteers and no salaries are ever taken.  We give God all the glory for the success of this mission.  Payson Supply Line is God-led; we are the hands, feet and voice that He uses; those that contribute through donations of money and items are what keep us going.

HOW WE BEGAN:
SSG Jason Watson is the brother of Butch and Kathy Klein’s daughter-in-law and he is literally the beginning of Payson Supply Line!  After sending Jason a small box of items  just as “family,” Butch felt that God was leading him to do more, not just for Jason, but to support all of our troops stationed in the war zones.  Butch is a former Marine and discussed his thoughts with fellow Christian and former Marine Captain, Lud Kaftan. 

In just a short time, Butch and Lud brought their wives, Kathy and Marian into the mix.   Paperwork was completed to begin our 501(c)(3) non-profit status.  Jason Watson was the recipient of the first Payson Supply Line box!  Lud’s home office became the first area to store supplies and pack the boxes for shipping.  Newspaper articles were done for publicity and we began doing fundraising events.  Payson, Arizona and the Rim Country area were very supportive and it didn’t take long for donations to roll in, along with many names and addresses of family and friends who were stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan.  

Every year our community continues to provide us with more and more support.  Local businesses and organizations have fundraising events for us all year long, and you will generally find us at every one of these events with our fundraising set-up, showing the community many of the thank you notes, emails and photos that we have received back from our troops who have received our boxes. 

The Payson Supply Line storage/packing  facility has grown from Lud’s home office (in 2005) to bigger and bigger very organized rented storage units over the years at Swiss Village Storage in Payson, Arizona.  The owners and managers of Swiss Village Storage are huge supporters of ours, and their wonderful facilities are perfect for our needs.

We know that there are so many people who want to support our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan but aren’t sure where to begin.  We are thankful to all those that support us in this mission and are honored to put your donations to work so that our troops can feel the love and support from their fellow Amerians. 

If you have a friend or loved one stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan and you would like them to receive a box from Payson Supply Line, please forward their name and mailing information to us at paysonsupplyline@yahoo.com   A form letter is enclosed in every box that goes out to let our troops know that all items are supplied by donation in support of them and their mission.  Butch jots a personal note on the back of each form letter so that the recipient knows who provided us with their name and mailing information and who requested the box for them. 

And our mission continues. . . . . .