All-Stars Among Us: Kat Lanigan

We're profiling the Nationals' All-Stars Among Us finalists this week on Nats Buzz. You have until Sunday, June 20th to vote for one of these three finalists to represent the Nationals at the All-Star Game in Anaheim this July. First up is baseball fan Kat Lanigan of Herndon. When Lanigan's father - a U.S. Army Reservist - was deployed overseas, she started a letter writing campaign to children of deployed soldiers. "It just recognizes them for the sacrifices they make when their parents are deployed," Lanigan said. Her family was all too familiar with that burden. Lanigan's mother was heavily involved with helping other military families through support groups, but Kat knew firsthand the kind of sacrifices children make during a parent's deployment and she wanted to help. "My sister and I wanted to do something that was more focused on the kids," she continued. When Warner Brothers caught wind of the program, they immediately wanted to get their famous Looney Tunes cartoon characters involved. Soon, children began receiving thank you letters from Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird. The Lanigans are season ticket holders at Nationals Park and Kat's a big baseball fan. John Lannan's her favorite player but she was elated to meet Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham last homestand as part of an on-field recognition for her service. "It was completely amazing. To be recognized by Major League Baseball is really big and really exciting," she said. Together with her sister, they've sent over 30,000 letters of support to military children across the country. Vote for Kat by visiting www.mlb.com/peopleallstarsamongus.