Misty Hofstetter, proud wife of Ssgt. Jason Hofstetter of the U.S. Air Force (www.mistyhof.com), wrote the following guest post about Debora George and her business Wire a Cake.(P.S. This guest post especially resonates with me because, when my to-be husband was at ROTC summer camp in 1968 at Ft. Riley, Kansas, the chocolate chip cookies my mother baked and shipped him would melt in his locker due to the Kansas heat. – P.Z.M.)
WireACake.com is the brainchild of Debora George of Huntington Beach, CA. A mother of three and a wife of 29 years, Debora did not always have the dream of working in the baking industry. In fact, she got her BA from UCLA in history.
However, through a simple event that took place in 1986 while she was living in Colorado, Debora’s life changed.
Debora tried to send a simple cake to her father in California for his birthday and was disappointed when she couldn’t arrange this. Seeing an opportunity for a possible business, Debora decided that, if she could get bakers in the top 40 cities to buy into her idea of a telecake network, she would be open for business.
In 1987, this idea became a reality, and for over 20 years her business flourished, expanding her network to 8,000 bakeries in both the US and Canada. However, with the slowing of the economy, Debora found it necessary to reinvent her business.
She thought about the many requests she had received since the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan started to send cakes for different occasions overseas to the men and women serving our country.
At the time, there was no cake or packaging in the industry that was suited for the 5-12 day trip that it would take. Not to mention the extreme conditions, both in the handling and the temperatures that the package would have to face.
This presented a unique opportunity for Debora’s business and also an opportunity to fill a need for our country, so Debora decided to take on this challenge.
Debora approached the Cake Box, a baker in her town of Huntington Beach, CA, to see if the baker could come up with a solution to this challenge. After many ideas and trial runs with test cakes sent to very willing Marines with both disasters and successes, a winner was finally found.
Since the USPS is the only way to send packages to APO/FPO addresses, the cakes can make it within about 7-12 days of shipping. Due to the innovative way the cakes are packaged, most of the cakes are in great shape when they arrive.
As a military wife myself, I know that these cakes can really make the day of any soldier, as shown below by the many thanks that Debora and her company receives:
"Just wanted to thank you again for what you do, this deployment is four months from being over and you guys have made the holidays we have missed a little easier to handle! Thanks so much.” -- Sierra
“My husband got his cake yesterday, and I believe it put a smile on his face that has been missing for months. Thank you so much! I'm sure he will send pictures of the party!” -- Melissa
“Debora, I want to thank you again for providing this service to our men and women in uniform. It means a lot to me as an Army wife to know that there are people out there that go above and beyond. Thanks again!” Respectfully, Lourdes
Debora’s company fills the need that gives families the ability to send cakes to their loved ones overseas as well as the company is involved with the Angel Team of Bakers in the Soldier’s Angels organization.
This project (learn more at http://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=angel-bakers) provides a free cake to a deserving soldier who may have been through an especially difficult experience during his or her deployment or is in need of a morale boost for a job well done.
For more info about Wire a Cake, go to www.wireacake.com
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.
Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.
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