In an effort to help bring all families closer together this holiday season, local business owner David Rill is offering families of military personnel a way to share personal, live greetings.

“The families of soldiers serving in the far-flung corners of the world so deserve this opportunity to connect with their loved one, who is so far from home,” said Rill, who runs Rill’s Tribute Life Center in Port Orchard, which offers webcasting as one of the services to local families experiencing the loss of a loved one. “Our intention was to help bring all family members together at a difficult time, and now, the ‘Messages of Love’ program seems to be a natural extension of that thinking.”

Rill said the service will be offered free to families living in Kitsap County who want to reach out to loved ones serving overseas.

To take advantage of the service, Rill said to begin by calling Rill Chapel at 876-4405 to schedule an appointment and give his staff your loved one’s e-mail address.

That way the service person can be sent an invitation alerting them to the time and date of the webcast.

“All they’ll need to do click on the URL link in the invitation and they’ll be taken directly to the webcast,” Rill said. “If they can’t make it to the live broadcast, they’ll be able to view the recorded message whenever they’re able.”

To make the webcast, Rill said after the family has arrived at the chapel for their appointment, they will have use of a private gathering area and 10 minutes to record and send their personal greeting.

“And the best news is, there’s no limit to the number of family members you can bring,” he said. “We urge all to come — babies, grandparents, siblings — the more the merrier.”

For those not familiar with webcasts, Rill explained that “it is simply a broadcast of any event – a wedding, memorial service, or in this case, a private communication between family members – distributed over the Internet using streaming technology. A webcast can be viewed live or recorded, and viewed when friends and family wish to – sometimes over and over again.”

Once made, he said each family’s “Message of Love” webcast will be archived online for 90 days, and during those three months, it can be viewed as many times as desired.

“While it’s our goal to connect people live when they need it most, we realize sometimes such a ‘live’ connection isn’t possible,” Rill said. “We can even create a DVD of the webcast, to ensure its longevity.”

Rill said webcasting was just one of the many options his chapel provides families as ways to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

“We’re pleased to provide this opportunity to families in our area,” he said. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that we’re a part of it all.”

To provide the service, Rill is partnering Event By Wire, based in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Rill said Event By Wire applies state-of-the-art technology to eliminate location, costs and personal circumstances as barriers to participating in important life events.