Ohio Fire Department Prepares For MDA Boot Drive
"We have a tradition to keep up," said Assistant Chief Jeff Meyer Tuesday as he made final preparations for the Labor Day weekend boot drive.
And it's not just firefighters from Columbus who have been, and will be again this weekend, collecting money for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon.
"We've been visiting volunteer fire departments throughout the area," said Terry Kuykendall, mother of local MDA ambassador Jeramy Clark. "This is the fun time of the year for us."
Clark, 18, will be making his 10th appearance on the telethon, broadcast this year by WRBL-TV for the 27th straight year. "I like talking to the firemen," he said. "They're the best."
Bridget Baggerly, the MDA coordinator, agrees with Clark. "Last year the firefighters brought in more than $12,000," she said. "But the year before that, they brought in $24,000."
Meyer said this year's haul may be closer to the 2002 harvest than to last year's collection. "We've already collected $9,300, and we have the big holiday weekend ahead of us."
Over the past five years, the boot drives have brought in $81,000.
All of the city's firefighters are involved in one way or another, with most hitting the streets Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning, boots in hand.
Another group prepping for the weekend's activities are Channel 3 news personalities, led by telethon producer Carlos Williams.
"This is my eighth year as producer but 23rd working with these wonderful people from the MDA," said Williams. He's lined up much of the station's on-air talent to conduct the 20-minutes-an-hour cut-ins that local affiliates will air on Monday.
Teresa Whitaker, Jack Rodgers, Amy Giuliano, Jessica Clark, Darlene Hughes Kittrell, Blaine Stewart, Chris Sweigart and Darren Stack will serve as local hosts from 8 a.m. Monday until the telethon's conclusion at 6:30 p.m.
Unlike past years when the telethon aired from various locations around Columbus, this year's will be shot entirely at the Channel 3 studio on 13th Street.
As it is each year, the MDA goal is a modest one.
"We want to make $1 more than last year," said Clark from his home in Ellerslie. Last year's drive netted $174,551.