A local woman is spearheading an effort to show support for Army Sgt. Chaz Allen and his family after the soldier stepped on an explosive device while serving in Afghanistan.
Allen lost both his legs earlier this year while on a routine patrol.
The local resident, Demetria Hale, is the childhood friend of Allen’s wife, Jessica, who is formerly Jessica Collins. Hale’s effort has reached around the globe.
“I wanted to do something to show how thankful I am for everything they do for us,” said Hale of the concept which led to what is now Team Allen. “When I saw on Facebook he had been wounded, I talked to Jessica and that’s when the idea of Team Allen came up.”
Jessica, the daughter of Mike and Kathy Collins, grew up in Warren County and graduated from Warren County High School. She married Allen, who hails from Oklahoma, 10 years ago with the couple living in Clarksville at the time of his most recent deployment.
“Jessica and I grew up together in Morrison and we used to play together,” Hale recalled, noting she graduated a year before Jessica and the two lost touch until about two years ago when they reunited on Facebook.
That’s when the two childhood friends became close again, leading to Hale’s one meeting with Chaz and his family when she, as a  professional photographer, went to make their family photograph just before his deployment to Afghanistan. Sgt. Allen was a veteran of numerous combat zones having served in South Korea, Kosovo, and Iraq before his deployment to Afghanistan.
“It’s hard to know what to do or what to say when something like this happens,” Hale said, noting during one of her conversations with her old friend it was decided a special T-shirt would be a way to let people everywhere show their support for the Allen family as Sgt. Allen continues what will be an extensive hospital stay.
“We thought it would be good to use Chaz’s favorite colors and his favorite character, Superman, and do something along those lines,” said Hale, pointing out the shirts are blue with a red Superman-like symbol with the “S” replaced by an “A” using an Army font. The words under the symbol say, “a hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
The shirts are being printed locally by Custom Vinyl and over 500 shirts have already been sold.
“The first time the mailman came and I told him the size of the order I’d be sending out he looked at me like I was crazy,” Hale said of the shipment of over 200 shirts. “I think they dread me calling now.”
The shirts have been shipped around the world, with many recipients posting their pictures wearing the shirts to the Team Allen website located at www.facebook.com/GoTeamAllen.
The fact Hale and her longtime friend renewed their old friendship through Facebook was ironic since they are now using it to spread Team Allen around the globe through not only the T-shirts but also the website.
“Folks can go on there and see updates of Chaz’s progress,” Hale said, noting she and Jessica administer the site to keep everyone up to date. “We’ve had a lot of folks who don’t know Chaz but heard about what happened and want to express their concern and their thanks for his service. I’ve had them from all over, a couple from Canada just the other day had heard and asked to join the Facebook page.”
Hale said there were 1,178 members of the Team Allen page as of last week. In addition to being a message board where updates are posted and members can give encouragement, the site is where the T-shirts can be purchased and donations be made to help with family expenses. The site even accepts PayPal.
“I can’t believe how it’s grown but I’m proud to see it,” Hale said. “It’s a lot of work but I’m really glad to be able to do something.”
Hale hopes to make the trip to Washington D.C. soon to see the family.