By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, November 16, 2015
Amid all the turmoil over Jeff Dauler's unexpected departure, Bert Weiss soldiered on with his seventh Big Thank You project, where the Bert Show collected 170,000 letters to send to any military person stationed overseas on Thanksgiving.
Tommy Owen, Weiss' producer, spends countless hours every year organizing the Big Thank You. A couple of years ago, eight volunteers created a special committee, which helps him read, collect, collate and deliver the letters, making it a smoother and smoother operation each year.
"He'd be here all day," said a very pregnant Stacey Wasserman of Acworth, who is one of the committee members. "We wanted to help him out. And we became friends in the process."
"It's my favorite time of year," said Andi Ward, a stay-at-home mom from Smyrna who has volunteered for five years. "I love doing something so incredible and special." (Her take on Dauler's move to Star: "I was in shock. He will be missed. He's good people.")
I stopped by the office building where Q100 operates last Monday. The letters were being prepped to go. The room was abuzz with activity, set up to efficiently pack 170,000 letters in boxes of 3,000 apiece in less than an hour. Owen had decorated the space with flags from each military branch and a wall of favorite letters.
The landlord lends them unused space gratis to do their work. Pitney Bowes and the U.S. Postal Service provide their services for free. Hundreds of volunteers sift through all the letters in four-hour shifts 16 hours a day for a more than a month to ensure each one provides the right message and correct size. (Big posters are not convenient to deliver and kindergarten pictures of colored turkey hands are cute but not really letters.)
Delivery day happened last Monday, a week after Dauler leaving. Weiss was understandably not in the mood to talk. (He would eventually speak his peace on Wednesday morning.)
The radio host has had plenty of pain this year. Earlier this year, he announced his pending divorce with his wife Stacey. Two weeks ago, he faced Dauler's surprise exit. And to add insult to injury, he had his appendix taken out on Saturday. He took Monday off from work but is expected to be back Tuesday.
"Caught a lucky break," he texted me today. "Went in for a CT scan for something else and they saw my appendix was on the verge of bursting."
As for the letter campaign this year, the show was panicking six days before delivery day because they only had about 44,000 letters. Owen said he was worried they'd come up short for the first time in history. But fans came through at the last second, flooding the offices with letters. He said they hit their mark at 6:30 p.m.the night before delivery day. Close call!
"It was touch and go but I knew we'd make the goal," Wasserman said.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
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