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BoardSide “Christmas planning—it’s not too early”

July 16, 2012
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By Dick Hagerty

It is not too early to begin planning for Christmas and the annual bell and kettle season.

Here in Modesto, Calif., some 20 years ago, we took this one step further and “invented” the annual Kettle Kickoff, an event that raises amazing amounts of money in an amazingly short period of time.

Over that 20-year period our event has raised more than $2 million, and last year all the various corps in our division raised a total of some $2 million through their own staging of  similar events.

Modesto has a $200,000 target for the event, and we have reached at or near this goal the past four years.

So, what is a “Kettle Kickoff”?

Simply stated, it is a mid-November civic gathering when we organize some 30 teams of bell ringers to invite friends and associates and encourage them and donors to bring very large checks. Teams then race around the room for exactly seven minutes—bells and kettles in hand. Now, doesn’t that sound simple?

Well, it is, but it takes a significant amount of planning.

First, we arrange the very largest meeting room available in Modesto, because in 20 years this event has grown in popularity to the point that we sell out early—and turn people away— weeks ahead of the event. We are able to cram 1,100 people into our civic center. When you realize that Modesto has a total population of only 200,000, you know that this is, indeed, a popular event.

The center director waives the normal catering rules and allows us to provide the meal, which is a huge savings since the minimum would likely be $25-plus per person. We prepare a traditional full Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings. It is critical that the event run on time; thus, we set up six or eight separate serving lines and encourage folks to come at 11:30, even though the event is scheduled for noon. Shortly after 12 p.m. everyone is seated and eating.

Next is the important process of recruiting, pairing and organizing the teams. Ideally you match up the most unlikely pairs of civic leaders on each team—for instance, the Baptist pastor and the Catholic priest; the police chief and the sheriff; the mayor and the head county executive; the heads of rival hospitals, of competing service clubs and of the public electric company and the private gas company. Let your imagination run with these combinations!

We try to start the program by 12:15 p.m., it is critical that you dismiss by 1:30. In fact, one of the hallmarks of Salvation Army programs in our city is that when we promise to end on time, we end on time! It is a cardinal sin to run late. We have invited busy people to help us, and our commitment, always, is that we will end on time.

The program provides an opportunity to quickly give the community a review of what we do. We consider this event to be our premier community showcase and we make the most of it. A brief annual report, a quick video, and we are ready for the main event.

The teams are quickly announced, although they are also fully listed in the printed program, assembled at the front of the room, and then we allow the previous year’s winning team to make a grand entrance.

After a countdown, the big bell is rung, and for seven minutes pandemonium reigns.  A donor gives us 1,000 $1 bills, and these cascade down over the luncheon tables in a veritable blizzard of money. The band plays, the bells ring, and the teams run from table to table—particularly to the tables that they know are “salted” with the large checks.

At the end of exactly seven minutes, kettles are collected and a team of money counters retires to a back room to quickly count the final tally.

While we await the grand announcement, we give our annual civic recognition awards, including the Others Award, if appropriate.

We also have a special 15-minute message; we aim to get the best speakers to challenge our crowd.

Finally the three top teams are announced in a dramatic moment that leads to the revelation of our grand total. A cheerful 1,100 folks then head for the sidewalk, in great pre-holiday spirits and with good feelings toward The Salvation Army.

Please contact me for more information or to attend our event Nov. 15.

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