Eckrich, Operation Homefront and Country Music Star Randy Houser Honor San Antonio Military Family

Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with H-E-B and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a San Antonio military family. Joining them for this surprise event was a special guest: platinum-selling country music star Randy Houser.

The Hamilton family was invited to a special luncheon at H-E-B. At the event, Houser surprised the family with free groceries for one year at H-E-B, courtesy of Eckrich, as well as tickets for his concert at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.

Together, Eckrich and Houser have been partnering to honor U.S. military families since 2014. Houser - whose numerous hits include his three No. 1 singles "How Country Feels," "Runnin' Outta Moonlight" and "Goodnight Kiss" and Top 5 smash, "Like A Cowboy" - will release his fourth studio album, Fired Up, on March 11. The 17-song project follows Houser's breakthrough album, How Country Feels, and features his current Top 5-and-climbing single, "We Went."

"It's been really cool to work with Eckrich and Operation Homefront to give back to our military families these past two years," says Houser. "They've sacrificed so much so that we have the freedom to do what we love and go out and entertain people every night, so I'm very humbled and grateful for the opportunity to give back and hopefully make their lives a little bit easier with these gifts." 

As a sergeant in the U.S. Army, Stephen Hamilton was a flight medic with the 10th CAB but broke his neck during a mission in Afghanistan in 2013. He and his wife, Claudia, have three sons, and the eldest is continuing the family tradition as an Army soldier.

"We are a family that is proud to serve our country, but today we're really thankful for Eckrich, H-E-B and Operation Homefront to take time and thank us," says Stephen. "It was special to have Randy Houser here with Eckrich and present us with free groceries. We didn't ask for anything, but it's nice to see people who care about our military families."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront and their Hearts of Valor program. Hearts of Valor is a network of people caring for wounded, ill or injured service members. Operation Homefront supports these caregivers in their journey of healing by facilitating an online community that provides social connections to other caregivers in similar situations, fostering support groups by geographic area to encourage resource sharing and friendships, and sponsoring annual retreats to provide education on relevant issues.

Eckrich, entering the fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has surpassed $2 million in donations since 2012.

"Eckrich is proud to continue to support Operation Homefront and our military families again this year," says Chuck Gitkin, senior vice president, marketing, Smithfield Foods. "We also appreciate the support of both our partners Randy Houser and H-E-B as we continue in our mission to thank and support military families across the country. We thank the Hamilton family and are proud to present them with one year of free groceries."