We were in our weekly WNST.net staff meeting Tuesday when Drew Forrester looked up and said, “wait? Did you Thanksgiving was NEXT Thursday? That has to be inaccurate!”
I think we’ve all had a sinking feeling over the course of the last few weeks, as we’ve realized Thanksgiving is happening on the earliest possible date on the calendar-next Thursday, November 22nd.
It’s with that in mind that I’m making one last push for you guys to help us out before then.
The last few years, Drew Forrester and I (with the incredible help of Nestor Aparicio and the rest of the WNST Staff, as well as Enoch Office Equipment) have collected canned goods and other non-perishable food items to help make Thanksgiving and the entire holiday season brighter for the less fortunate in the Baltimore area.
You know what? I misspoke there.
YOU all have collected the cans, we’ve just tried to pitch in and help out all of you.
When I was part of “The Morning Reaction”, I used to try to explain it this way.
All of us are part of the WNST Community. As hosts, we’re just the part of the community that has microphones in front of us. Otherwise, we’re just part of the group. The community isn’t necessarily people who are fans of Drew, Nestor, Luke Jones, Catch The Buzz, Thyrl Nelson or myself; the community is made up of Baltimoreans who are sports fans.
We fall into that group. We’re Baltimore Ravens fans. We’re Baltimore Orioles fans. We’re Maryland Terrapins and Towson Tigers and Baltimore Blast and UMBC Retrievers and Morgan State Bears and Navy Midshipmen and Coppin State Eagles and Loyola Greyhounds and Calvert how the Calvert Hall Cardinals and Perry Hall Gators fans.
It’s a community I’m incredibly proud to call myself a part of. In fact, I have made it clear I was a part of the WNST community long before I ever worked at WNST. I was a part of the WNST community from the inception of the outlet. I was a part of the WNST community when I was working at the community of living in Arizona.
Some of the members of the WNST community are going to need our help to have a more meaningful holiday season.
I’ll never…EVER…forget when a listener and caller who is a REGULAR at WNST events approached me a few years ago and told me it meant a little bit more to them to be donating to our effort because it had only been a few years earlier that they found themselves at a shelter needing the donations of others not only to provide a holiday celebration, but just to get by.
Once again, that listener was in the studio at 1550 Hart Rd. in Towson last week making their annual donation to our efforts. It warmed my heart in a way I couldn’t possibly explain.
I don’t want to sound like I’m begging, but I’m absolutely begging.
We got off to a great start to our canned good drive thanks to some significant donations early in November. But as our deadline approaches next Tuesday, we NEED you guys to step up a bit.
We’ll be taking our food donations to the Canton Baptist Church food kitchen and the Bea Gaddy Thanksgiving Dinner again this year, but we have to make the donation next TUESDAY the 20th. We’re up against it.
So I’m making one more push.
We usually do an annual “hangout” night during the food drive. Unfortunately between our WNST.net live Ravens player shows, Hurricane Sandy, an election and a trip to Brooklyn, it was almost impossible for us to work out a date before the early Thanksgiving date.
Instead, I’m hoping you’ll come hang out with us this Thursday night. Bud Light Thursday Night Live presented by Freedmont Mortgage is at The Grill at Harryman House, 340 Main Street in Reisterstown. Our host is Ravens TE Dennis Pitta, his special guest is LB Dannell Ellerbe-who has been playing as well if not better than any Ravens defensive player recently.
If you come out Thursday night and bring me canned goods/other non-perishable food items, I will give you a “PRIORITY” spot at the front of the line to meet the guys. I’ll also throw in a pair of tickets to the Maryland/Towson women’s basketball game December 11th at the Towson Center. I know damn well you’ll be begging me for tickets to this game (I remember because you were doing the same thing the last time the Terrapins visited Towson) which will likely end up sold out. I have ten pairs of tickets, so the first ten of you to bring me canned goods Thursday night will get them.
Also, I’ll be hanging out after the show Thursday night in the Tavern Room at The Grill at Harryman House, checking out the Bills/Dolphins game, debating the merits of whether or not the Orioles should sign Jonny Gomes, doing vodka shots in honor of Alex Len, trying out quarterbacks who could play against Florida State next week and talking about some little football game in the Steel City Sunday night.
I’m hoping to convince Drew, Luke and Ryan to stick around as well and hang out after the show. It should be a good time.
We’ll do the same thing next Monday night at Hooters in Towson for Monday Night Live.
If you can’t get out to either show, we’d LOVE to have you stop by the station any day between now and Tuesday with your donations.
We need to get this done Baltimore. We owe this to those who need it this holiday season, have needed in the past and might need it in the future.
These are O’s fans. They’re Ravens fans and Terps fans. They need us. Like Bruce Springsteen would say, we need to take care of our own.
Hope to see you Thursday night.
-G
