Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren autographed a case — 12 boxes — of Thin Mints for the Girl Scouts Gift of Caring. That's a program in which participating Girl Scout troops give customers the option of paying for a box of cookies to be donated to military personnel, homeless shelters and social-service agencies.

The Holmgren boxes were mixed in with more than 1,000 other boxes gathered Friday by troops in Bellevue and Mercer Island.

Jennifer Robertson of Bellevue and the nine girls in her Brownie Troop 1078 helped load the sweet gifts Friday.

The majority went to Renton, where volunteers with Operation Support Our Troops added them to Easter care packages being shipped to the Middle East. A few boxes will be distributed at area military hospitals.

Robertson, the troop leader, said it was the first time her Brownies helped with the project and the first time they've sold cookies. They sold 1,044 boxes in all — 120 designated as donations.

"The girls did amazingly well for their first time selling, and they were thrilled to help American soldiers," Roberston said.

Nadine Gulit of Issaquah was just as excited. She's the powerhouse grandmother behind Operation Support Our Troops who organized Saturday's packing party. Besides the cookies, the boxes included toiletries, Beanie Babies for the military to share with Iraqi children, socks and school supplies destined for the Abu Ghraib region.

Gulit was so busy she didn't noticed where the possible collector's items went but says the Girl Scout cookies will be welcome.

"Girl Scout cookies are a taste of home, a taste of America," she said.

Gulit knows firsthand. Her grandsons Scott and Adam Sheaffer are serving in Iraq and Dylan Sheaffer is in Afghanistan. They're the sons of Jim and Sheryl Sheaffer of Sammamish.

Giddyap

Herb Weisbaum may be the Consumer Man on KOMO-TV and KOMO-AM (1000) radio, but he has a new nickname around the Humane Society for Seattle/King County.

The Bellevue resident and his wife, Debra, co-chair the annual Tuxes & Tails fundraiser. This year's Western-themed event will be May 6 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.

To promote "Happy Tails to You," Weisbaum has been wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat to planning meetings at the Humane Society. He's now known as Hop-Along Weisbaum.

Here's looking at you, kid

Former Seattle Mariner Dan Wilson was the guest celebrity at Saturday's grand opening of Fairwinds, a senior-living facility in Redmond. During the open house and ribbon cutting, the staff surprised Wilson with a baseball-theme birthday cake, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday."

He's still too young to move into Fairwinds.

Saturday was the retired catcher's 37th birthday.

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com

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