Oddly, the bar gets lower each year for Bert Weiss and his Bert Show in his annual Big Thank You campaign.
The goal of the Big Thank You is to send appreciation letters to every American military person who is overseas on Thanksgiving. But that number has shrunken over the past few years as the military itself has seen its footprint get smaller, especially in foreign lands. In 2007, Bert's crew sent out more than 375,000 letters when the U.S. were still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than 400,000 in 2011. This year, they only needed 160,000 and received more than 170,000.
Over five different campaigns, the show has received and delivered more than 1.4 million letters. The radio show, now heard in 20 markets nationwide, has hit its goal every time.
That doesn't mean the job isn't difficult. Hundreds of volunteers help collect and vet letters, then place them in boxes to be sent to troops worldwide. Last week, more than 15 volunteers and radio station folks gathered to deliver the boxes out. The good news is the system has gotten smoother and they were able to make deadlines, no problem.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
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