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
