Old North Stars at PBS Fundraiser
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Saturday, March 10, was a great night for both our local PBS station and our own
Old North Knoxville neighborhood. At our annual manning of the telephones
for PBS, 14 or your neighbors had a great time and helped PBS take in over
$24,000 in just 3 hours! It may have helped that a Lawrence Welk reunion
was the main program during our stint on the air, but we maintain that it was
primarily due to our outstanding phone presence and sales ability! (That's
our story and we're sticking to it.) After getting instructions, our crack
crew consisting of Tomica Miller, Donna Brechko, Dave Palmer, Bob and
Stephanie Lavoie, Pete Creel, Jane "scream" Parker, Beth and David
Booker, Andy Anderson, Marvin Payne, Ernie "cauliflower ear" Roberts
and Chester Kilgore sat down and got to work.
Even though we were only on the air for a few minutes at the beginning of the program, the phones just never seemed to quit. Even when enjoying the cold buffet and ice cream, we found it necessary to keep a couple of people on the phones at all times. (Ever try to talk on the phone through a mouthful of ice cream sundae?) Calls were received from all over East Tennessee as well as North Carolina, Virginia, and even Alabama. Don't ever underestimate the power and popularity of Lawrence Welk! Andy Anderson baked one of his wonderful specialty cakes for the occasion, this one an eatable version of Sesame Street's Big Bird, and we were able to sample it after it was shown on the air. Pete Creel brought our big banner with the Old North name on it and we mounted it right down in front where the TV cameras could not miss showing it. The way the phones were set up, the first one to ring was Dave Palmers' and that may be the reason that he seemed to get all the people who called to complain that their regular programs were not on. But the best call of the evening had to be the one Ernie Roberts received. At first we thought he was talking to his girlfriend, since he was on the phone for so long (about 20 minutes). Turned out that he was talking to the son of a very elderly lady, and the two of them had to consult on each item of discussion, usually at the top of their lungs, since either one or both of them were a tad bit hard of hearing. Ernie stuck it out though, and did sign them up for a donation to PBS. That's why Ernie is now referred to as cauliflower ear. All in all it turned out to be a great evening and everyone had a good time. Thanks again to our neighbors that turned out and special thanks to Andy Anderson for working so hard to get it set up and finding the people to work. If you haven't volunteered to work on one of these sessions, do yourself a favor and sign up when the opportunity comes along next. Do make sure you get the right date, though. Our wonderful new neighbors, Susan and Richard Long, signed up and even made a special early return from a trip to be there. Unfortunately, it was the wrong weekend! We do appreciate your dedication, Susan and Richard. |