Q100’s Bert Show gets goal of 400,000 letters for military
October 31, 2011, by
Four years ago, Q100’s Bert Show listeners wrote 375,000 hand-written letters, one for every military personnel overseas for Thanksgiving.
The show this year did it again with a goal of 400,000. A week ago, the show said it had received only 40,000 letters. “We were all in a panic,” host Bert Weiss said in a phone interview Tuesday.
But a flood came in this past week and they pulled in 405,925 letters, the show announced Monday morning.
They had 200 volunteers, solicited through Facebook and Twitter, counting letters over the weekend on the fourth floor of their building.
Six weeks ago, he had seen a story about veterans coming home and feeling disconnected from civilians. “It felt like the right thing to do at the right time again. The military wasn’t on the front page anymore,” Weiss said.
The process was more stressful than 2007, he added, because the letters came in later.
Weiss has said even if the letters are generic, military personnel appreciate the sentiments, especially since they are written by hand, something people hardly do anymore.
Kristin Klingshirn, the newest member of the morning show, has a Marine brother overseas.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
