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Speaker 1: How many families did you provide Christmas for this year?

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Speaker 2: Three hundred and eighty five families, approximately two thousand children.

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Speaker 1: Okay, how many gifts per kid? Typically three, five to six.

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Speaker 1: That's two thousand kids, five gifts. That's ten thousand gifts.

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Speaker 2: To twenty two hundred rolls of wrapping paper, two hundred

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Speaker 2: and fifty rolls of tape. I bought one year on

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Speaker 2: eBay or a printing company that was going out of business.

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Speaker 2: I bought thirty thousand gift tags. Thirty thousand gift tags.

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Speaker 2: They're in one hundred to a sheet. We just used

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Speaker 2: up the last one of them this year. It was

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Speaker 2: so big, it was crazy, and I paid twenty five

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Speaker 2: dollars for him. It was awesome.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney.

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Speaker 1: I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, a father, an entrepreneur,

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Speaker 1: and I've been a football coach an inner city Memphis.

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Speaker 1: And the last part it unintentionally led to an oscar

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Speaker 1: for the film about our team. That film's called Undefeated.

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Speaker 1: I believe our country's problems will never be solved by

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Speaker 1: a bunch of fancy people and nice suits talking big

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Speaker 1: words that nobody ever uses on CNN and Fox, but

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Speaker 1: rather an army of normal folks us just you and

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Speaker 1: me deciding, hey, I can help. That is exactly what

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Speaker 1: big Al Holdron, the voice we just heard has done.

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Speaker 1: Al is the co founder of Secret Families, which provides

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Speaker 1: all of those Christmas presents for families who can't afford

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Speaker 1: them in his community of Muncie, Indiana. There should be

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Speaker 1: a Secret Families in every area of our country. And

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Speaker 1: I cannot wait for you to meet Big Al right

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Speaker 1: after these brief messages from our center sponsors. Okay, guys,

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Speaker 1: this story was really recently recommended to us by an

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Speaker 1: Army member named Meryl McKinley, and Meryl, thanks because Big

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Speaker 1: Al's awesome. But because it's such an awesome Christmas story,

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Speaker 1: we had to break our usual protocol, which is we

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Speaker 1: bring guests to Memphis or I go to the guest,

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Speaker 1: and we do in person interviews because I just feel

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Speaker 1: like face to face conversations are more compelling. But because

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Speaker 1: we got this information late, we just didn't have time

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Speaker 1: to do this interview in person, so we did do

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Speaker 1: this one online on Zoom so that we could quickly

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Speaker 1: edit it and sneak it in before Christmas. So this

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Speaker 1: episode might sound a little different than normal because of

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Speaker 1: the challenges of clear conversation over zoom, but Big Al's

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Speaker 1: big personality more than makes up for it, and you're

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Speaker 1: about to hear that. And guys, y'all really keep sending

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Speaker 1: us stories and ideas at normalfolks dot us. Your programming

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Speaker 1: of this podcast has been incredible, So let's get started.

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Speaker 1: Al Haldron an interesting dude. Thanks for joining me, Al,

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Speaker 1: how are you.

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Speaker 2: I'm doing great, Bill, Thank you for the Thank you

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Speaker 2: guys for your time and for the interest. It's pretty

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Speaker 2: cool stuff, man, It's gonna be a great conversation. I

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Speaker 2: love it.

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Speaker 1: Well, what you do is pretty cool stuff, and the

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Speaker 1: timing of it is obviously appropriate and topical. But before

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Speaker 1: we get to while we're talking to you and the

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Speaker 1: very cool thing that you do, which i'll i'll tease is, uh,

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Speaker 1: it's secret Santa, right, that's.

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Speaker 2: What he's called secret families.

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Speaker 1: Secret families, well, secret families, and I'm sorry, I've done

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Speaker 1: that three times. My family out at Christmas, we do

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Speaker 1: what's called secret Santa. And so it's it's my wife,

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Speaker 1: it's my wife, me, the four kids, my mother in

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Speaker 1: law and father in law, my mother, my uncle, my

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Speaker 1: sister in law, my brother in law, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's it. There's ten eleven of us. And so what

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Speaker 1: we do is we say, everybody spends one hundred bucks max,

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Speaker 1: and you have to buy a pair of socks, household

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Speaker 1: item and a book. And you can only spend one

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Speaker 1: hundred bucks. So you could buy an eighty dollars book.

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Speaker 1: So now you got aye, a four dollar pair of

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Speaker 1: socks and a sixteen dollars household item.

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Speaker 2: Right, you can mix up probably a good will buying

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Speaker 2: a toaster.

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Speaker 1: There you go, perfect. And then and then we and

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Speaker 1: then everybody shows up with their three gifts unmarked, puts

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Speaker 1: them on the table and we have three rounds. So

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Speaker 1: round one is book. So everybody chooses one gift from

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Speaker 1: the book pile. And then right, but here's the thing.

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Speaker 1: It rotates upon opening it. So when I open my

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Speaker 1: book gift, now I've got my book. Now the next

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Speaker 1: person to open they can either keep their gift or

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Speaker 1: take mine from me. You're absolutely And then it goes

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Speaker 1: all the way around and it's called it's called secret

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Speaker 1: Dirty Santa. And I got to tell you Christmas Day

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Speaker 1: at my house ends up people throwing stuff at each

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Speaker 1: other half the time because everybody wants one game.

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Speaker 2: Great, No, no, nobody wants you know whatever for the soul. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: whatever it is, that's that's it.

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Speaker 1: And I mean somebody made by somebody who may spend

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Speaker 1: five bucks on a book and night out a house,

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Speaker 1: so the the quality of each item varies dramatically, and

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Speaker 1: everybody anyway, it's a blast. And so we call that

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Speaker 1: Secret Santa. And so when I see secret families and

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Speaker 1: think Christmas, the work you do it is not anything

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Speaker 1: like what we do.

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Speaker 2: But that common terminology, that's the secret Santa. And you

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Speaker 2: know what, it all applies. But the game is still

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Speaker 2: the same, and that's what we love about it.

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Speaker 1: That's that's it. That's that's it.

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Speaker 2: That's all right.

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Speaker 1: Enough about me.

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Speaker 2: Where do you come from?

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Speaker 1: Where'd you grow up? Tell me where you came from?

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Speaker 2: Here? This is I actually grew up in monsey Is

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Speaker 2: County seat, and I grew up in a little town

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Speaker 2: literally attached to it, but just ten miles north of Munseie, Indiana, Eaton, Indiana,

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Speaker 2: population five thousand people. My dad and everybody in that

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Speaker 2: town all worked at one of the two General motors

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Speaker 2: plants that were in were keyword we're in Muncie. One

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Speaker 2: is now well both of them are completely non existent.

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Speaker 2: They don't exist and the buildings are even gone. But

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Speaker 2: it was a little small community up there, and went

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Speaker 2: to Delta High School, So I'm a local kid. Other

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Speaker 2: than I've been here my whole life. I'm sixty one,

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Speaker 2: been here my whole life and had a four year

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Speaker 2: stint in Milwaukee with a business that I owned up there,

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Speaker 2: and then came back here and started her family, and

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Speaker 2: you know, the rest is history.

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Speaker 1: So you're a Midwest, mid.

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Speaker 2: West Indiana boy all day long. You name it a

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Speaker 2: little basketball and big basketball, and you're in Indiana. I

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Speaker 2: go basketball, absolutely are Then well I'm a uh yeah,

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Speaker 2: who's your who's your by state?

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Speaker 1: I you?

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Speaker 2: I you fan? Are you basketball fan? Notre Dame football fan?

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Speaker 2: So we always have and most of us have split allegiances.

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Speaker 2: Ball State is a is in our community, and we're

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Speaker 2: always Ball State fans. We go to those games. But

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Speaker 2: I grew up as a Bobby Knight fan and grew

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Speaker 2: up with Notre Dame football, So you know.

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Speaker 1: Kind of doesn't get any more Midwestern than that.

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Speaker 2: Oh god no, and uh uh one of our friend

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Speaker 2: arms length friend is Matt Painter, who's ball state or

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry, who is produced basketball coach currently. Uh so,

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Speaker 2: and he grew up he was an old Dell to

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Speaker 2: high school guy. You know, it's funny. Everybody we say

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Speaker 2: the world, eventually all is connected to Muncie. Eventually it's

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Speaker 2: you know, it's not Kevin Bacon, it's Monsey, it's a

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Speaker 2: That's that's how it rolls. So and Bill, we're gonna

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Speaker 2: come back. You're I'm gonna throw something at you. I'm

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Speaker 2: going to challenge you at the end of our conversation

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Speaker 2: with your secret, with your secrets, and because I have

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Speaker 2: something to throw.

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Speaker 1: At you, so well do it now? What is it?

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Speaker 2: Quit doing that? Yeah, there's eleven dollars. Everybody throws a

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Speaker 2: hundred in the hat. You go to the local whatever, meer, Walmart,

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Speaker 2: whatever's close to you.

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Speaker 1: Audit stop. Yep. You can't challenge me yet. You can

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Speaker 1: do it at the end because I don't want to.

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Speaker 1: I don't want our listeners to know yet.

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Speaker 2: Oh great, I know. Then we'll do it at the

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Speaker 2: end of it'll play it, it'll play better there. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 2: I got an idea for you.

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Speaker 1: So Okay, so you're a Midwest guy born and raised. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: blue collar type community, just good Midwest community, and you

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Speaker 1: go off to Milwaukee and start a business. But then

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Speaker 1: you come back to Yorktown, which is just outside a

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Speaker 1: month see, basically Munsie area.

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Speaker 2: That's that's where home. I live in Muncie. My business

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Speaker 2: that I own, the collection agency that I own, currently

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Speaker 2: is in Yorktown, but I live in Muncie, right.

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Speaker 1: So so it's interesting because obviously being here you're involved

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Speaker 1: in a in philanthropic work and you know you you

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Speaker 1: you wouldn't be we wouldn't be highlighting your story without that.

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Speaker 1: But your profession is a collection agent, and I find

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Speaker 1: that interesting and candidly. I own a business. I've had

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Speaker 1: bad accounts, I have used collection work. But I think

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Speaker 1: guys in your industry, you know, get a maybe a

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Speaker 1: bad rep because it's the dreaded bill collector guy, and

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Speaker 1: the dreaded bill collector guys often seen as an evil

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Speaker 1: villain in the process of credit. But the truth is

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Speaker 1: when people spend money on credit, whether it's a credit

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Speaker 1: card or writer or bad check, or enter into a

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Speaker 1: business arrangement that they don't pay off the bank or whatever,

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Speaker 1: those bills have to be collected and the business that

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Speaker 1: extended that credit is out the money unless they're able

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Speaker 1: to receive it. And people that do what you do

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Speaker 1: are a valuable spoke on the will of business. But

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Speaker 1: we've certainly heard of the predatory, overly aggressive collection tactics.

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Speaker 1: And then, like any industry, there's good and bad. Just

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Speaker 1: briefly tell our listeners what you do on a daily

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Speaker 1: basis and how you approach it.

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Speaker 2: Sure the company antlest Services based here out of Yorktown.

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Speaker 2: We've been here. We were in Mensie Dover County area

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Speaker 2: since sixty seven. My group is the second group to

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Speaker 2: own it, and we bought it from a couple older gentlemen.

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Speaker 2: And we work with medical a lot of medical property

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Speaker 2: rental goodness you in the dental industry, and so you know,

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Speaker 2: and you're exactly right. There is good, bad and ugly

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Speaker 2: in our business, as there is within the industry. We

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Speaker 2: think we're in that good side of it. A lot

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Speaker 2: of times. Sometimes it's an oversight, sometimes it's intentional that

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Speaker 2: people don't pay. But we always say, hey, our clients

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Speaker 2: like to get a paycheck on Friday too. You got

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Speaker 2: the services, you took the services you just didn't pay them.

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Speaker 2: What if somebody did that to you, how would you feel?

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Speaker 2: And you know, just having that conversation, a little bit

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Speaker 2: of guilt, I mean, doesn't hurt and is usually the

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Speaker 2: best way to collect. And then at that point they

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Speaker 2: may have a circumstance that payment arrangements or needs. So

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Speaker 2: but that's what we do. We really are calling people.

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Speaker 2: As soon as we can get them out of debt,

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Speaker 2: their credit is going to go back up and they're

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Speaker 2: going to be in a better circumstance because they're not

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Speaker 2: robing Peter to pay Paul all the time. So sometimes

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Speaker 2: all we're going to do is we're going to focus

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Speaker 2: individuals into let's get this paid off. Then let's pay

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Speaker 2: this off. Then let's pay this off. And that's that's

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Speaker 2: really what we do. So we we sometimes are more

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Speaker 2: like their mom and dad because maybe they weren't taught appropriately,

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Speaker 2: and that's what we end up becoming sometimes built.

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Speaker 1: So that's what you do for a living. You collect,

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Speaker 1: You collect money for organizations who have provided a good

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Speaker 1: or service to people who haven't paid them, and you

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Speaker 1: try to respectfully and civilly collect that money. And that's it.

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Speaker 1: And you know what that's not a bad thing. That's

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Speaker 1: just a spoken the will of business.

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Speaker 2: Yep. Everybody needs. Everybody needs that, someone's got a If

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Speaker 2: somebody doesn't pay, then the business is closed and everything

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Speaker 2: shuts down. And that's just reality.

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Speaker 1: So in those things, so you're not So you're not

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Speaker 1: the grim reaper debt collector that we've all grown to

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Speaker 1: learn to fear. And oh gosh, don't call me at

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Speaker 1: my job, and don't call me at midnight, don't threaten me.

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Speaker 1: It's not that.

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Speaker 2: No, we're more we're probably more heavily regulated than anything

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Speaker 2: in the world. In then medical, then FDA, you name it,

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Speaker 2: Federal Trade Commission. They do not play around you screw

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Speaker 2: up in our industry. You go to jail. You pay

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Speaker 2: a fine automatically, and they're going to take everything you

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Speaker 2: got and you go to jail. So you do not

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Speaker 2: mess with those people at all. We run and we play,

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Speaker 2: and the good companies, the good companies are in business.

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Speaker 2: Everybody else is in the sing.

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Speaker 1: Sing how many people in your company?

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Speaker 2: Ten?

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Speaker 1: Ten? So we're not talking about this massive organization dollars

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Speaker 1: smiling for dollars. I get a small, family run business

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Speaker 1: where you make a good living and that's what you take.

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Speaker 1: That's it.

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Speaker 2: And I can run down to the gas station and

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Speaker 2: buy everybody and carry back everybody in my company at

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Speaker 2: coke in about twenty minutes.

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Speaker 1: I got it.

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Speaker 2: And that's a small business, that's.

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Speaker 1: What that's that's a so a Midwest. So the whole

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Speaker 1: point is it's an army of normal folks. What's more

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Speaker 1: normal than a Midwestern guy who likes Notre Dame Purdue.

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Speaker 1: I you lived in Milwaukee, return to York time. Mundsey,

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Speaker 1: Indiana has a ten person, small family run business making

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Speaker 1: a good, honest living. There you are, Bill.

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Speaker 2: We've always I've always made a quote, always say comment

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Speaker 2: the Holdron family. We are six point five on every

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Speaker 2: scale that you can imagine.

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Speaker 1: That's hilarious.

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Speaker 2: We do everything at six point five. We are we are.

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Speaker 2: We are not brilliant at any one thing. I'm about

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Speaker 2: a six point five guys you'll ever see. And if

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Speaker 2: you want to come and sit on the deck, we'll

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Speaker 2: buy you a cold one. And if you need a

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Speaker 2: Makers and uh it's it's Makers and uh Makers and

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Speaker 2: coconut cherry life saver. Uh that'll make you happy. And

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Speaker 2: one in a while after a long week, you need

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Speaker 2: one of those on a Friday evening or just six

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Speaker 2: point five. We don't drink the big bourbon.

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Speaker 1: We drink a couple than four. I love it.

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Speaker 2: It's a good day.

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Speaker 1: It's hilarious.

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Speaker 2: Oh it's so true, so true.

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Speaker 1: So your friends call you big Al.

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Speaker 2: Big Al that that's a third grade nickname. It's stuck.

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Speaker 2: I am a big dude, big guy. When you go

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Speaker 2: up six two two ninety, they call you big Al.

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Speaker 2: It's stuck, and it is a term of endearment. We

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Speaker 2: always laugh. Bill. If someone walks up to me, if

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Speaker 2: they call me Al Holdron or mister Holdron, I know

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Speaker 2: that they don't know me and they're trying to sell me.

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Speaker 1: Something well, and and mister Holdron is probably above a

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Speaker 1: six point five. Big Al is dead on six five.

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Speaker 2: Big ol six point five all day long. And if

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Speaker 2: somebody walks up and says I need to see big Al,

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Speaker 2: I know they've talked to one of my friends. They've

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Speaker 2: got permission to do that, or all my friends that

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Speaker 2: it's funny. A lot of people, and a lot of

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Speaker 2: these people that work with in some things we're going

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Speaker 2: to talk about here in a little bit, they only

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Speaker 2: know me as big Al. They have no idea what

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Speaker 2: my name is, and as far as I'm concerned, don't care.

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Speaker 2: It makes no different. Mission is important. The details are not.

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Speaker 2: They're not.

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Speaker 1: Tell me about your wife.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Oh my gosh, the reason that we get up

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Speaker 2: in the morning. Coolest, classiest thing you'd ever meet. And

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Speaker 2: I still am amazed that she deals with me well.

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Speaker 1: She Chris is apparently attracted to six point five.

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Speaker 2: She loves six point five fifth grade teacher Selma Elementary. Classiest,

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Speaker 2: coolest thing you will ever meet in your lifetime. And

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Speaker 2: I mean that so sincerely. I'm going to blow how

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Speaker 2: many years we've been married, but it's going to be

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Speaker 2: We're going to say thirty five plus puts me in.

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Speaker 2: I believe it's around thirty eight. Bill, I really don't

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Speaker 2: those details. With everything you'll find that I don't have.

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Speaker 2: I have a dear friend, Jason May, who's a state

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Speaker 2: farm agent here in town. He's a brother by another mother, Okay,

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Speaker 2: and he has always made a comment that eighty seven

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Speaker 2: percent of everything that I say is true and the

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Speaker 2: other thirteen percent he just can't remember. And so you

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Speaker 2: just make it up to fill in the holes and

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Speaker 2: build the mortar to build everything else. And boy, that

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Speaker 2: is probably as true as anything. There's just too much

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Speaker 2: in the memory. There's too much on the hard drive,

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Speaker 2: so I have to erase something to have room to

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Speaker 2: add something in. But I know Chris is taught there

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Speaker 2: guy thirty six some years, some elementary fifth grade teacher,

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Speaker 2: just phenomenal. She's now been there long enough. She's teaching students' kids.

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Speaker 1: Yes, she's on second generally.

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Speaker 2: She's on second and and with some just remember we're

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Speaker 2: in a rural area. Sometimes it's third generation. It was

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Speaker 2: an early breeding schedule.

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Speaker 1: That's great.

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Speaker 2: It just is what it is, and that's and she is.

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Speaker 2: But she's phenomenal. And this whole the thing, what we're

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Speaker 2: gonna do, what we will talk about. All of this

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Speaker 2: came about because of her. And there's a story there

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Speaker 2: that we'll get into.

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Speaker 1: Right after a few messages from our general sponsors. But first,

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Speaker 1: this one's kind of crazy. After only six months, our

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Speaker 1: podcast has been named a finalist for the Anthem Community

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Speaker 1: Voice Awards for the social contributions that we've helped inspire. Honestly, guys,

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Speaker 1: I'm humbled and Turkey person alert here. We're not doing

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Speaker 1: the podcast to win awards. We're doing it to inspire change.

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Speaker 1: But the more things like this that come along, the

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Speaker 1: more awareness of the podcast and and the more subscribers,

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00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:06,640
Speaker 1: and the more people that join the Army, and that

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00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,000
Speaker 1: gives us more opportunity to have more impact. So we're

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Speaker 1: asking if you'd be open to help us that you

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00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:20,399
Speaker 1: visit celebrate dot Anthemawards dot com, scroll down to choose

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00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,800
Speaker 1: the Army, then register and click the Celebrate button. It

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00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:29,120
Speaker 1: takes about a minute and a half, but we'd love

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00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:34,000
Speaker 1: your support to help grow awareness, help grow the listenership

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00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,680
Speaker 1: to our podcast, help grow the Army. Thanks a lot

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Speaker 1: for thinking about it. We'll be right back. Your wife

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Speaker 1: of thirty thirty five plus years call it thirty eight.

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Speaker 1: You and Chris have how many children?

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Speaker 2: Two girls? My oldest has our first grandchild and has

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Speaker 2: just bought a house across the street from us. So

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Speaker 2: grandma is out of her mind. You can't but fifty yards,

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Speaker 2: and I'm going to have to apologize to the one

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Speaker 2: neighbor because I believe the grandchild who's eleven months old.

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Speaker 2: Now the grandchild and my wife are going to beat

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Speaker 2: a pat where a hog path in their yard, going

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Speaker 2: back and forth, and now she can go see her

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Speaker 2: literally just walks over and goes, you guys, go somewhere

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Speaker 2: to the movie I Got the Kid. It's the oldest

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Speaker 2: Katie Katie is twenty.

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Speaker 1: Eight, got It, and second daughter.

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Speaker 2: Maddie as married, lives two miles from us. So then

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Speaker 2: they're set in their homes and that's great. We love

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00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,679
Speaker 2: that they're not going to live in California and Australia.

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Speaker 2: We love them being that close. Maddie let me see,

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Speaker 2: graduated six sixteen, twenty five, got it?

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Speaker 1: So you got you and Chris married forever, Katie twenty eight,

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Speaker 1: Matty twenty five, all living a month. See, normal folks

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Speaker 1: doing normal things, living a life. And your wife one

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Speaker 1: day in December of early December of two thousand and four,

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Speaker 1: which we're talking that's nineteen years ago. Six years don't

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Speaker 1: mean much to you, came home and said, let's not

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Speaker 1: buy presents for each other this Christmas. Let's do something different.

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Speaker 2: Tell us that story, Yeah, Bill, the story goes. I

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Speaker 2: was on the local school board, which is where Maddie

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Speaker 2: and Katie and Katie's husband all teach currently, so I'm

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Speaker 2: in the world of educator. They all teach in the

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Speaker 2: corporation that I graduated high school from, and they all

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Speaker 2: graduated high school from. I came home from a school

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Speaker 2: I was on the school board back in the day,

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Speaker 2: and I came home from a board meeting, and the

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Speaker 2: deal was that all the principles would send out a

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Speaker 2: sheet for any family that needed help it and you

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Speaker 2: would check the box need Thanksgiving meal, Christmas meal, Christmas presents,

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Speaker 2: whatever else you had comment area. They would check that,

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Speaker 2: and every person in the corporation, no matter what their

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Speaker 2: financial situation, would get one of these sheets. We got

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Speaker 2: one personally, we got one, and you just throw them

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Speaker 2: away if you don't need them. If somebody didn't, they

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Speaker 2: turn them back in. They were supposed to get him

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Speaker 2: approved of the board before they send them out. He

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Speaker 2: did not do that, a brand new principle. He sent

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Speaker 2: them out, got them back. The one he submitted had

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Speaker 2: a family on it already filled out, so he submitted

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Speaker 2: it after the fact. So he caught a lot of

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Speaker 2: flat caught a lot of hell for that, and I

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Speaker 2: just happened to have it in my board packet. I

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Speaker 2: came home, she said, al I need to talk to

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Speaker 2: you for a second. The girls are in there. She

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Speaker 2: goes the girls and I've been talking and she said

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Speaker 2: exactly that. She said, what do you think about buying

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Speaker 2: me for Christmas? She goes, by the way, I don't

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Speaker 2: need another sweater. I said, okay, well that takes out across.

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Speaker 2: Now I'm down to zero ideas. And I said, well,

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00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,480
Speaker 2: by the way, I don't need another sweater either. She goes,

401
00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:16,440
Speaker 2: how much money is in your sock drawer? Said, I

402
00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,560
Speaker 2: don't know. She goes, go check the builders. An old

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00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,200
Speaker 2: envelope in my socker have been there forever. I don't

404
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 2: know how old it is. It's over twenty years old.

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Speaker 2: And whenever we come back from a if we go

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Speaker 2: away for a weekend, or we go on a vacation,

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Speaker 2: whatever cash that I have in my billfold, the game

408
00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:39,040
Speaker 2: is I just take it, change and everything and put

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Speaker 2: in that envelope, and then at Christmas, for years we

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00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 2: would just take that, divide it, and that's what we

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00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,080
Speaker 2: would use to buy each other something for Christmas. It

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Speaker 2: could be seventy dollars or a thousand. It never I

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Speaker 2: went there and I pulled it out, hand it to her.

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Speaker 2: She counts it real quick, and I mean it's ones

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Speaker 2: and five twenties and now maybe one hundred in there.

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00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 2: There's five hundred and fifty dollars in there. That number

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Speaker 2: is going to come back again to us here in

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Speaker 2: a second bill. There's five hundred and fifty dollars in

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Speaker 2: that envelope. She said, I think we should quit buying

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Speaker 2: each other Christmas presents with that money, and don't buy

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Speaker 2: each other anything else now, And let's go out, and

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00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,520
Speaker 2: why don't you call one of the schools and get

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Speaker 2: a family. See if they can give us a family,

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Speaker 2: and let's take that and go buy them Christmas. We're like,

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00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,280
Speaker 2: all right, we can do that now. The next day

426
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Speaker 2: we get a snowstorm of about thirteen inches of snow.

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Speaker 2: She takes the five hundred and fifty dollars and I said,

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Speaker 2: I think that's a great idea. I said, I've got one.

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Speaker 2: I went to my board packet, pulled it out, and Bill,

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Speaker 2: it is the girl that I grew up next door

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Speaker 2: to and eating the little ten I grew up my

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00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,960
Speaker 2: entire life till I was twenty two years old. That

433
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,200
Speaker 2: was literally the girl next door and her husband had

434
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,639
Speaker 2: just died of cancer, and her daughter is in my

435
00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 2: daughter's fifth grade class who rides the bus with her.

436
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:19,400
Speaker 1: Hey, they don't have enough to have Christmas.

437
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,280
Speaker 2: They don't. She's a registered nurse, so they had their

438
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 2: they're paying their bills, but the cancer took all of

439
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,320
Speaker 2: their money. So they're just getting by month to month

440
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 2: till things, you know, until time. He just died the

441
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:37,360
Speaker 2: month before, so they decided that. I said, here's one

442
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,960
Speaker 2: call HERNDA and ask her if we can help her.

443
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:43,480
Speaker 2: And she called. They were ecstatic and said I didn't

444
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:44,679
Speaker 2: know what it was going to do for Christmas. I

445
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 2: just don't have the extra money. And we said we

446
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 2: got it. My wife takes a list from her. That

447
00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:55,200
Speaker 2: next evening, as we're driving to Meyer in the freaking snowstorm.

448
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 2: We get to Meyer, we're the only people at a

449
00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,040
Speaker 2: store which is like a Walmart for those that don't

450
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,800
Speaker 2: know what am my grocery and clothing and cosmetics and

451
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 2: everything else store. We're the only people in the store.

452
00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,679
Speaker 2: There's five of the employees sitting on one of the

453
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,320
Speaker 2: belts of the checkout trying to figure out whether they're

454
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,159
Speaker 2: going to have to sleep there that night or not,

455
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,440
Speaker 2: or they should close the store to this twenty four

456
00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,800
Speaker 2: hours then and go home. We walk in, kick the

457
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,520
Speaker 2: snow off, and go oh Lordy. They're like, what are

458
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 2: you guys doing here? And I said, we have these lists.

459
00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:35,000
Speaker 2: They go, We're in. So the Meyer family, the Meyer employees,

460
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,080
Speaker 2: were our first shopping family ever. They went with us.

461
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:43,000
Speaker 2: We shopped quickly. For everybody. We spent exactly five hundred

462
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,640
Speaker 2: and fifty dollars. Actually we spent five hundred dollars. There

463
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:51,120
Speaker 2: was three kids, two kids, and then the whitest surviving

464
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,400
Speaker 2: wife we took. We spent four hundred dollars or four

465
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,879
Speaker 2: hundred fifty dollars. We took the one hundred dollars, bought

466
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,359
Speaker 2: a Meyer gift card so they would have Christmas dinner,

467
00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,280
Speaker 2: and that started the whole thing. They came home, the

468
00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,159
Speaker 2: girls wrapped that stuff all night. The next night we

469
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,480
Speaker 2: went took it to him, dropped it off. This whole

470
00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 2: thing was supposed to be done.

471
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,800
Speaker 1: Is this including a Christmas tree? Everything?

472
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,119
Speaker 2: Yeah, we had a We had the worst looking artificial

473
00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:24,280
Speaker 2: Christmas tree that we were going to give away to

474
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,439
Speaker 2: Goodwill and buy a new one. And I worked. I

475
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:29,480
Speaker 2: went out in the shop, one of my shops and

476
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,919
Speaker 2: made a new stand for it. And we had a

477
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 2: couple strands of lights. So we took our old Christmas tree,

478
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 2: the bags of presents, the Meyer gift card, and my

479
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 2: wife had an old bible and she stuck the Meyer

480
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:45,200
Speaker 2: gift card in the bible, and that's what we took

481
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:46,760
Speaker 2: to them, and that started.

482
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:55,960
Speaker 1: That's well, tell me her this. This lady's husband died

483
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 1: thirty days before this, right after probably a long illness.

484
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:07,400
Speaker 1: Not only are they not having gifts and the celebration

485
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,720
Speaker 1: of Christmas, but they're also probably still dealing with a

486
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: great deal of sadness and loss that they haven't completely

487
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 1: moved beyond.

488
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,760
Speaker 2: Right. It was awful. He was a great guy. He

489
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:20,240
Speaker 2: had small engineery pair out in his garage and he

490
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:25,000
Speaker 2: worked on mowers and anything small, any weed eaters and

491
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,160
Speaker 2: that kind of stuff, and was phenomenal. Everybody in the

492
00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,880
Speaker 2: community went to him. Everybody out in that area all

493
00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:32,120
Speaker 2: used him. He was quick, he had it done. He

494
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:34,920
Speaker 2: was inexpensive, and he really made a nice living doing it.

495
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:38,760
Speaker 2: So they lost his income, but there was nothing, there

496
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,560
Speaker 2: was no extra, there was just yes, it was just pitiful.

497
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:43,120
Speaker 2: And so they're dealing with all that grief.

498
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:47,480
Speaker 1: And so and so, how when you showed up with

499
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:52,760
Speaker 1: a tree and presence and the gift card, how were

500
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:58,840
Speaker 1: you greeted, and I mean not that pointing of a question.

501
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,880
Speaker 1: I'm certain they were happy to see you, but people

502
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,920
Speaker 1: that need things at Christmas, certainly they're happy to get

503
00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,600
Speaker 1: the things. But whatever led people to not having enough

504
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:15,840
Speaker 1: money to handle Christmas, there's almost always trauma and loss

505
00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,920
Speaker 1: behind all of that. So my question is, you know,

506
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,480
Speaker 1: did it even dawn on you that you were filling

507
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:28,160
Speaker 1: holes more than just the holes under a tree?

508
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 2: Nope, no, adult, Your point is exactly exactly correct in

509
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,960
Speaker 2: every situation that we've had that we've delivered to after that,

510
00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 2: And I think we get caught up sometimes and we

511
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,280
Speaker 2: forget that point, Bill, that we get caught up in

512
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,080
Speaker 2: doing what we do, just getting the stuff to them,

513
00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,880
Speaker 2: because it's such a crazy thing now. But no, I

514
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,840
Speaker 2: think we thought about it after the fact. But after

515
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,360
Speaker 2: we all quit crying, both their family and my family

516
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,560
Speaker 2: quit crying after ten minutes, we were actually able to function.

517
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,360
Speaker 2: Because it is as soon as you walked in the door,

518
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,200
Speaker 2: she starts going. Because I don't think they actually thought

519
00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 2: we were gonna come, because yeah, I mean I haven't

520
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 2: known her, I haven't seen her for twenty years. You know,

521
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:20,720
Speaker 2: she's thirty eight year old. You know or thirty six

522
00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 2: year old, you know, adult. Then I knew her as

523
00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,000
Speaker 2: a child, but we'd lost touch. And I only knew

524
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,600
Speaker 2: her because i'd heard that he had passed away and

525
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,000
Speaker 2: that I forgot. I didn't even know they were husband

526
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,040
Speaker 2: and wife for and they lived within a mile of us.

527
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,360
Speaker 2: I didn't even know they were husband and wife because

528
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:41,920
Speaker 2: whenever I if I dropped something off, possibly for him

529
00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 2: to work on, she wasn't there. She was at work.

530
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 2: I didn't even know that was her last name. So

531
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:51,360
Speaker 2: it was a total surprise. So, yeah, the whole emotional

532
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 2: thing and the trauma, and they've all had some kind

533
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 2: of trauma, job, loss, husband, lost, fire, we've had We've

534
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,600
Speaker 2: dropped four We've served four families this week because we

535
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,560
Speaker 2: call them fire Bibles. They have a gift card and

536
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 2: a Bible and them a gift card and a Bible

537
00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,320
Speaker 2: that we just take to them when they have that fire.

538
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 2: They just need to get out. And they didn't get

539
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 2: a new pair of shoes, some jeans and a sweatshirt.

540
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,520
Speaker 2: I mean, they're just trying to survive at that point.

541
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 2: So we've had all that happen literally within the last

542
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:21,320
Speaker 2: six days.

543
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:26,840
Speaker 1: So here's the thing. That was a great Christmas for

544
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:31,360
Speaker 1: you guys, and you and your daughters. Your daughters were

545
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,840
Speaker 1: part of it. Y'all wrap the gifts together in the

546
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 1: garage and you went and did this. But that was

547
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: in two thousand and four. Yeah, what happened in two

548
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:44,200
Speaker 1: thousand and five.

549
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:48,440
Speaker 2: My brother in law and I want to give you

550
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:52,240
Speaker 2: a great quote, Bill, I mean, you guys love great quotes. Yeah,

551
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,560
Speaker 2: and Big Al's got more of them than you can handle.

552
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:56,720
Speaker 2: You haven't got enough time. You give me twenty four hours,

553
00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 2: you'll need twenty five. Givers are not born, they're taught.

554
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:08,360
Speaker 2: What we did to finish your answer your question? What

555
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:10,800
Speaker 2: I didn't know? What I didn't know that we were

556
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,960
Speaker 2: doing what Chris and I were doing. Girl, Thank goodness,

557
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:17,560
Speaker 2: my children have at least one great parent and then

558
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 2: they also have me too. What we were doing, we

559
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 2: were teaching Katie and Maddie to give. And that's what

560
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,520
Speaker 2: people do. They follow their parents, They watch mom and dad,

561
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:38,080
Speaker 2: they watch their grandparents, and they will emulate that with

562
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 2: their lives. I think they struggle if they don't see

563
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 2: that ahead. That's what that's what this thing has all become.

564
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,480
Speaker 2: So sorry, ask me that next question. Ask me in

565
00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,560
Speaker 2: two thousand and five, two thousand and five.

566
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:55,560
Speaker 1: So first year, when this comes home, you get the

567
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,840
Speaker 1: money out of the SOT drawer, you do this thing.

568
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,240
Speaker 1: It ends up being for someone you knew that you

569
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,200
Speaker 1: didn't even know what was going to be. Yep, you

570
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,960
Speaker 1: kind of happened into that because you were on the

571
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,160
Speaker 1: school board and you happen to have this information. It

572
00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:11,160
Speaker 1: just got thrown together in three days. You did a

573
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:15,080
Speaker 1: wonderful good thing for a person your community. But that's

574
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:19,120
Speaker 1: not an organization, that's not an effort, that's just a

575
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:21,440
Speaker 1: one off. But then the next year what.

576
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:25,000
Speaker 2: Happens well, and to continue with that first year will

577
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,800
Speaker 2: the rest of that story. Is my brother in law,

578
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,880
Speaker 2: his name's John Neeman, just a great person. My wife

579
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:39,040
Speaker 2: has just one sibling. John comes in the night that

580
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,120
Speaker 2: we're getting ready to take the presence. He goes, I

581
00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:44,440
Speaker 2: want to go with you. This is your one, this

582
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,280
Speaker 2: is your one. So it was going to be one family.

583
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:55,600
Speaker 2: And so John is vice president of Super Value Foods

584
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,040
Speaker 2: and based out of Well, it was Osco Drugs around

585
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,160
Speaker 2: here and then super Value Foods restaurant in drug stores

586
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:05,359
Speaker 2: and he was living out in California. He comes in

587
00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:09,000
Speaker 2: for Christmas, and he stays with us. John comes in.

588
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:11,520
Speaker 2: John has a credit card that you can buy a

589
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:17,800
Speaker 2: home with. Okay, all right, and I mean that literally,

590
00:35:18,320 --> 00:35:21,400
Speaker 2: the limit on that credit card would have bought our home.

591
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,759
Speaker 2: He could have walked up and swipe credit card, walked out,

592
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:31,719
Speaker 2: and he said, he goes, I one in, I one in,

593
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,080
Speaker 2: Get everybody in, Get everybody back in the van. Find

594
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:38,120
Speaker 2: me another family. I'm in. We're going to do this again.

595
00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 2: And we go back and do it again, and we

596
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,960
Speaker 2: found another family that happened to be at our church.

597
00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 2: We called our pastor because it was on the weekend

598
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,400
Speaker 2: called the Passion, and he goes, oh, these guys are struggling.

599
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,320
Speaker 2: The mother is blind, the father had lost his job,

600
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:58,359
Speaker 2: and the two boys were first coming to our church.

601
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,480
Speaker 2: And then the parents came later on King Bircherd and

602
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:03,960
Speaker 2: they were not going to have Christmas either. So we

603
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,520
Speaker 2: go on his credit card. He said, I'm in for

604
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:08,799
Speaker 2: the whole family, and he takes a credit card and

605
00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:12,360
Speaker 2: we go back spent the same We thought that number works,

606
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:16,359
Speaker 2: so we spent another four fifty five hundred dollars, took

607
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,759
Speaker 2: the balance of it, got him a meer gift card.

608
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:22,799
Speaker 2: For food and we went Now this one we ding

609
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:26,400
Speaker 2: dong d dashed him. We went up. They didn't know

610
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:30,239
Speaker 2: we were coming. We didn't have permission. We just knew

611
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:32,799
Speaker 2: some things from the pastor that they needed and we

612
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:35,720
Speaker 2: didn't have time and didn't want to interview him. Pastor

613
00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,640
Speaker 2: said that the father probably would not accept the presence,

614
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 2: so we had to spoof them. So we went up,

615
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:44,800
Speaker 2: rang the doorbell, left the presidence, no tree this time,

616
00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:48,080
Speaker 2: left the presidence on the doorstep with the Bible with

617
00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:50,880
Speaker 2: the gift card, and then ran like hell back to

618
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:53,640
Speaker 2: our cars, and everybody dug in the cars and we

619
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:58,200
Speaker 2: took off. And they never figured it out. The boys

620
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 2: came and helped, I think couple of years later with

621
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:04,919
Speaker 2: when when the event, they finally figured out who did

622
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:07,840
Speaker 2: it based upon what they had heard we were doing leaders,

623
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 2: But they didn't figure it out for a couple of years,

624
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:10,320
Speaker 2: which was perfect.

625
00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:14,280
Speaker 1: So so year one, year one is these two.

626
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,280
Speaker 2: These two, and then year two, the two thousand and five,

627
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:22,359
Speaker 2: the word got out, it's a month. He's a is

628
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,960
Speaker 2: not a small town, and we have a arge university here.

629
00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:31,560
Speaker 2: But it also everybody's connected. We always say that where

630
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,239
Speaker 2: I when I was in high school. I either said

631
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,319
Speaker 2: I was related to them or I dated them, you know,

632
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:43,839
Speaker 2: one of the two. Well, it's the it's the biggest

633
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:45,239
Speaker 2: small town you've ever seen.

634
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,399
Speaker 1: Everybody's us, you know, you know, you know how there's

635
00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,240
Speaker 1: parts of the country that actually both of those are true.

636
00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:52,080
Speaker 1: But that's all enough.

637
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:57,279
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, it's a little it's about five hours from here.

638
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:05,439
Speaker 1: Way you related to them and you yeah, that's yeah, yeah,

639
00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,000
Speaker 1: they but that's another show.

640
00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:10,360
Speaker 2: That's another show. The the the next year, what happened

641
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:15,879
Speaker 2: was that just via church and just via some conversation,

642
00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:20,279
Speaker 2: the word got out, the word got out and that

643
00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:23,920
Speaker 2: we had done this and I was involved with and

644
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:28,319
Speaker 2: I had people coming to our house saying, we won in.

645
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 2: How do we get in? How do we do here's

646
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:34,600
Speaker 2: a check for five point fifty. Why don't you talk

647
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,959
Speaker 2: to all of our friends? And then the next year

648
00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:44,000
Speaker 2: it's seven, then it's twenty five, and here we go

649
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,520
Speaker 2: and that's it. Literally had There was no money, no

650
00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:54,200
Speaker 2: administrative costs, no nothing involved, no advertising. It was literally

651
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:57,600
Speaker 2: word of mouth, just to some friends and they all

652
00:38:57,719 --> 00:39:00,480
Speaker 2: then were the first teams that came and have been

653
00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 2: involved with us since day one. That next year, the

654
00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:08,040
Speaker 2: third really family that we were going to serve, and

655
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,640
Speaker 2: he is on our board now. His name's Chris krabtres

656
00:39:10,680 --> 00:39:15,399
Speaker 2: And Photography, a local photography business here. He came to

657
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:19,360
Speaker 2: me and said, hey, I think you need to put

658
00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:22,560
Speaker 2: a name on this. And it was originally going to

659
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,120
Speaker 2: be called Secret Dads, and that was what he had

660
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,080
Speaker 2: talked about. I said, but we're really serving families. He goes,

661
00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:33,000
Speaker 2: all right, secret families. And what he had he had

662
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:37,919
Speaker 2: someone working for him that was struggling but was too

663
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:42,160
Speaker 2: proud to ask. So he gave me the money. And

664
00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:46,520
Speaker 2: he knew that I knew this person's mom. He gave

665
00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,320
Speaker 2: me the money. I gave it to her, the mom,

666
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 2: and was not allowed to tell the mom, I'm sorry,

667
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:56,240
Speaker 2: the mother of the lady where the money came from.

668
00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,560
Speaker 2: He didn't want her to know that the employer took

669
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,480
Speaker 2: care of They wanted it to come from me. So

670
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:04,799
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, I am the conduit.

671
00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:09,200
Speaker 1: Okay, once again, secret families.

672
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:10,520
Speaker 2: All day long, and we have to keep it secret.

673
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:12,239
Speaker 2: And that's what he said, give it to her, but

674
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,680
Speaker 2: keep it secret. And that's where it all came about,

675
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,160
Speaker 2: was that we were going to do all this anonymous

676
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:21,719
Speaker 2: all the families that we served, Bill, we still I'm

677
00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:24,919
Speaker 2: the only one that knows who they are. That's that's

678
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,040
Speaker 2: the reality.

679
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:41,759
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. So what year did this thing

680
00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:45,960
Speaker 1: become quote Secret Families? How many years? In?

681
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,160
Speaker 2: Probably about three years in Bill, Okay.

682
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:55,360
Speaker 1: So yeah, So from this first idea that Chris had

683
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:57,800
Speaker 1: that you and your family pulled off, that your brother

684
00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:02,080
Speaker 1: in law fell into that year, then you then you

685
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:05,120
Speaker 1: do a little more and then after year three, going

686
00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:08,680
Speaker 1: into your four, you have a thing now and it's

687
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,359
Speaker 1: a grassroots thing called Secret Families. And the idea is this,

688
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:17,200
Speaker 1: each family we're going to raise five hundred and fifty

689
00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:19,680
Speaker 1: dollars for and we're going to provide them a Christmas tree,

690
00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:23,880
Speaker 1: about four hundred dollars in gifts, about one hundred dollars

691
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,239
Speaker 1: gift cards so they can buy and prepare a true

692
00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:28,400
Speaker 1: Christmas meal.

693
00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:33,600
Speaker 2: And it's a tree if they choose.

694
00:41:34,239 --> 00:41:37,120
Speaker 1: And it's all anonymous.

695
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:39,279
Speaker 2: Yep, absolutely not.

696
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:43,280
Speaker 1: And it's not only the givers are anonymous, but even

697
00:41:43,320 --> 00:41:51,080
Speaker 1: the receivers are anonymous. So it's one not to elicit

698
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: on the giving side. Hey, look at what wonderful things

699
00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:58,680
Speaker 1: I'm doing for people. Pat me on the back. It's anonymous.

700
00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,600
Speaker 1: So the people that are giving it or doing it

701
00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,160
Speaker 1: simply to do some good, and they're doing it for

702
00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:07,319
Speaker 1: people that they don't really even know who they're doing

703
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: it for. Because the receivers, we don't want you to

704
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:17,320
Speaker 1: feel embarrassed or any of that. It's so the whole

705
00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:20,160
Speaker 1: thing's anonymous, on both the giving and receiving side.

706
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:24,680
Speaker 2: Absolutely, the bility, all the families. And I would tell

707
00:42:24,719 --> 00:42:29,480
Speaker 2: this to any of your listeners, which are immense as

708
00:42:29,560 --> 00:42:33,239
Speaker 2: I have done a little research. Wow, totally amazing. And

709
00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:35,600
Speaker 2: I tell you that I don't want to be remiss.

710
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,279
Speaker 2: I'm very honored that you even talk to me.

711
00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,440
Speaker 1: I know exactly.

712
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:45,000
Speaker 2: I know it's what you do. But dude, is I

713
00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:49,120
Speaker 2: love people. Love success stories. In this program, it's a

714
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:53,359
Speaker 2: success story because you care about people and you go

715
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:58,320
Speaker 2: do things for just folk and do that is unbelievable. Son,

716
00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:01,319
Speaker 2: got to doubt. Yeah, we got to smooch you up

717
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:04,120
Speaker 2: a little bit. Here. We're gonna be buddies in the deck.

718
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,200
Speaker 2: My god, I know you, Yeah, I know, I like you.

719
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:07,600
Speaker 1: Here.

720
00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:12,319
Speaker 2: The families we serve, the filter we have built is

721
00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:17,840
Speaker 2: every family we serve has to come to us exclusively

722
00:43:18,440 --> 00:43:23,720
Speaker 2: from a school principle schools and for anybody out there,

723
00:43:23,880 --> 00:43:27,080
Speaker 2: if you ever want the best filter to make sure

724
00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:31,440
Speaker 2: you're serving a need not a want, that is a

725
00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:36,799
Speaker 2: school counselor and or school secretary. They know more than

726
00:43:37,040 --> 00:43:39,160
Speaker 2: anybody about a community.

727
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:44,240
Speaker 1: Now that is really interesting because you know, in sales,

728
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,600
Speaker 1: you always want to get you always want to build

729
00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:50,400
Speaker 1: a relationship with the gatekeeper all that.

730
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:52,080
Speaker 2: That's what it's all I have.

731
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,120
Speaker 1: Right, and that's what we call the secretary of the

732
00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:00,400
Speaker 1: guy that does the purchasing or has administrated assistant. But

733
00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:02,839
Speaker 1: if you build a relationship with the because the gatekeeper

734
00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:06,400
Speaker 1: is really the one that the information. The gatekeeper is

735
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:10,080
Speaker 1: typically someone who you don't think of as an integral

736
00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,120
Speaker 1: part of an organization, but so much information flows to

737
00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:16,400
Speaker 1: that gatekeeper that if you want to sell somebody in

738
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:19,680
Speaker 1: a business, if you get a relationship with the gatekeeper,

739
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:22,600
Speaker 1: you will ultimately get the audience you need to go

740
00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:24,960
Speaker 1: sell something. And so that's not a bit. But what

741
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:30,120
Speaker 1: you just said is really interesting. You're saying that school secretary,

742
00:44:30,719 --> 00:44:33,919
Speaker 1: they're the ones that are getting the absentee lists, they're

743
00:44:33,920 --> 00:44:36,279
Speaker 1: the ones that are getting the parents' calls, They're the

744
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:40,480
Speaker 1: ones that are patching through this person in social services

745
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:44,080
Speaker 1: to the principle. They're the ones that really do know

746
00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:45,880
Speaker 1: that is so interesting.

747
00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:49,920
Speaker 2: They see the kids coming into school. Of see, because

748
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:53,279
Speaker 2: the kids go right to a classroom in an elementary right,

749
00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:56,839
Speaker 2: so they have a relationship with their teacher. They have

750
00:44:56,960 --> 00:45:00,560
Speaker 2: no relationship with any other teacher in the school unless

751
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,200
Speaker 2: they had them as a teacher, so they would only

752
00:45:03,239 --> 00:45:07,480
Speaker 2: have a fifth grader, would only have six relationships with

753
00:45:07,680 --> 00:45:13,040
Speaker 2: forty teachers. The secretary is commonality with all forty teachers.

754
00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:15,799
Speaker 2: They all report to her, they all vent to her.

755
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:19,240
Speaker 2: She is the gatekeeper for them to get to the principal.

756
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:21,759
Speaker 2: When they're throwing a fip because there because something broke

757
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:23,960
Speaker 2: in their classroom, they go to the secretary. They don't

758
00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:27,600
Speaker 2: go to the principal. The secretary then either just tells

759
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,080
Speaker 2: the janitor to go fix it, or if it's a

760
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:32,920
Speaker 2: major issue, she takes it up the line to the principal.

761
00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,080
Speaker 2: They also talk with They're the ones that when the

762
00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:40,919
Speaker 2: kid got in trouble or and when that kid comes

763
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:43,839
Speaker 2: in if they don't have the right shoes or they

764
00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:48,160
Speaker 2: don't have a winner coat, that secretary is the point guard.

765
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:52,400
Speaker 2: She distributes the problems to the people that can fix it,

766
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:55,839
Speaker 2: so they know. She goes to the counselor and she goes, oh,

767
00:45:55,880 --> 00:45:58,719
Speaker 2: the counselor says, this family's got problems. She goes, No,

768
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:04,440
Speaker 2: their parents are just idiots.

769
00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:06,560
Speaker 1: The secretary know.

770
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:09,960
Speaker 2: She knows that's because she talked to him on the phone.

771
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:11,880
Speaker 2: The counselor may or may not have talked to him

772
00:46:11,880 --> 00:46:13,800
Speaker 2: the phone. They're dealing with the kid at the school.

773
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,040
Speaker 2: The parents called in and cussed out there. The secretary,

774
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:20,520
Speaker 2: Dad's just an idiot. She's like, I don't need anything.

775
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:23,560
Speaker 2: He's got that he in here. And she also she

776
00:46:23,719 --> 00:46:27,440
Speaker 2: knows who within those schools. She knows the parents that

777
00:46:27,560 --> 00:46:32,319
Speaker 2: are having affairs. She hears it all. So they are

778
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,520
Speaker 2: that point person. They give us the list and then

779
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:37,880
Speaker 2: at that point, now here's the thing. We know that

780
00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:42,120
Speaker 2: ninety eight percent of everything we knew is serving in need.

781
00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:47,000
Speaker 2: Two percent will be a want because they buffaloed somebody,

782
00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:50,839
Speaker 2: they got through, they get they buffaloed that secretary. We

783
00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,440
Speaker 2: miss those. We don't care. It's not my place to judge,

784
00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:58,360
Speaker 2: it's only my place to serve. I collect the money

785
00:46:58,880 --> 00:47:02,120
Speaker 2: in good faith, distribute it in good faith. I'm just

786
00:47:02,200 --> 00:47:03,600
Speaker 2: the point guard for Jesus.

787
00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:09,160
Speaker 1: But your people that you serve, you get all of

788
00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:15,120
Speaker 1: them through the information you receive anonymously. Yes, through the

789
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:17,880
Speaker 1: secretary and the guidance counselors at the elementary school.

790
00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:18,799
Speaker 2: Yeah, that has been.

791
00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,200
Speaker 1: That has been. That time has taught you that's the

792
00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:22,800
Speaker 1: best filter.

793
00:47:23,080 --> 00:47:24,839
Speaker 2: It is. And we started right. We did it from

794
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:27,200
Speaker 2: the get go. We just knew that it was a

795
00:47:27,239 --> 00:47:30,560
Speaker 2: good and said, oh, it's a good filter. I take it.

796
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,440
Speaker 2: I took this year probably over one hundred phone calls,

797
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,120
Speaker 2: which is typical to me because I'm very transparent with

798
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,600
Speaker 2: my information, my email addresses out there. I get emails

799
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,760
Speaker 2: and I have families trying to put themselves on the list,

800
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:45,880
Speaker 2: or they're trying to put their sister on the list,

801
00:47:46,160 --> 00:47:48,160
Speaker 2: or they're trying to put their neighbor, or they know

802
00:47:48,239 --> 00:47:51,480
Speaker 2: somebody that needs help. I don't need help finding people.

803
00:47:51,880 --> 00:47:54,480
Speaker 2: I got. I can find all the families I want.

804
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:57,560
Speaker 2: It's just at what layer am I going to quit cutting?

805
00:47:58,200 --> 00:48:01,600
Speaker 2: And we try to cut only when it has need.

806
00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:06,560
Speaker 2: Anything Anything below that nee level, we're in. Anything above that,

807
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:08,680
Speaker 2: we're out. And I tell you, they go, well, you know,

808
00:48:08,719 --> 00:48:11,160
Speaker 2: I just I had we'd spend all the money on this,

809
00:48:11,239 --> 00:48:15,000
Speaker 2: and I said, you're not. You don't fit that. Not

810
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:16,560
Speaker 2: only that, I don't want you to put it on

811
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:19,640
Speaker 2: the on the list, because how do I know that

812
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:22,600
Speaker 2: you need something? You say you do. But if I

813
00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:24,600
Speaker 2: walk into your house and there's a one hundred and

814
00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:27,279
Speaker 2: five inch big screen hanging on the wall with the

815
00:48:27,320 --> 00:48:31,880
Speaker 2: kids playing the PlayStation, you're out, all right, Sochel.

816
00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:38,160
Speaker 1: You collect them through these means and you have that's

817
00:48:38,200 --> 00:48:43,120
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff. How many okay, yeah, how many kids?

818
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:46,600
Speaker 1: Just quick answer on this one, yep, because it's a

819
00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:49,920
Speaker 1: second question coming that I want to hear a lot about. Sure,

820
00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:56,439
Speaker 1: how many? How many families did you provide Christmas for

821
00:48:57,560 --> 00:48:58,040
Speaker 1: this year?

822
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:03,439
Speaker 2: Three hundred and eighty five family, approximately two thousand children. Okay,

823
00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:08,360
Speaker 2: that's just that's just in Mike County. We have seven

824
00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:09,960
Speaker 2: other affiliates also.

825
00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:15,480
Speaker 1: Okay, how many gifts per kid? Typically you have three

826
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:21,640
Speaker 1: five to six. That's ten two thousand kids, five gifts.

827
00:49:21,680 --> 00:49:23,879
Speaker 1: That's ten thousand gifts to.

828
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:27,239
Speaker 2: Twenty two hundred rolls of wrapping paper, two hundred and

829
00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:30,759
Speaker 2: fifty rolls of tape. No bows because they get torn off.

830
00:49:31,200 --> 00:49:34,840
Speaker 2: I bought one year on eBay or a printing company

831
00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:38,920
Speaker 2: that was going out of business. I bought thirty thousand

832
00:49:39,320 --> 00:49:46,880
Speaker 2: gift tags, hold it, thirty thousand gift bags, one hundred

833
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:50,040
Speaker 2: doze sheet and I and I, my god, we just

834
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:53,600
Speaker 2: used up the last one of them. This year, I've

835
00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:58,320
Speaker 2: had twenty almost forty. Oh my god, it was so crazy.

836
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:01,279
Speaker 2: God and I paid twenty five dollars for him. It

837
00:50:01,360 --> 00:50:02,000
Speaker 2: was awesome.

838
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:07,600
Speaker 1: But the but the model OWL is you get together

839
00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:10,719
Speaker 1: on one day. Yeah, you wrap this stuff and you

840
00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:12,320
Speaker 1: deliver the next.

841
00:50:12,239 --> 00:50:15,920
Speaker 2: No, it is all done in one day for.

842
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:18,080
Speaker 1: Three hundred and eighty five deliver one day.

843
00:50:18,239 --> 00:50:20,760
Speaker 2: We start shopping at six o'clock and by four o'clock

844
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:22,280
Speaker 2: I'm at a restaurant having a rabbi.

845
00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:29,840
Speaker 1: Okay, all right, but hold on, Yeah, how many people

846
00:50:30,640 --> 00:50:35,520
Speaker 1: does it take to wrap? Buy, wrap, and deliver from

847
00:50:35,640 --> 00:50:39,720
Speaker 1: six to four, ten to twelve thousand gifts?

848
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:45,040
Speaker 2: Twenty two hundred in the largest largest one day charity

849
00:50:45,080 --> 00:50:48,520
Speaker 2: in the state of Indiana. Happens in Delaware County, not

850
00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:52,919
Speaker 2: in in Monsey, not in not in Lafayette, not in Indianapolis,

851
00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:56,400
Speaker 2: Evansville or Fort Wayne. In Munsey, Indiana, I have we

852
00:50:56,440 --> 00:50:59,719
Speaker 2: assemble twenty two hundred people last Saturday and that is,

853
00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:04,600
Speaker 2: we have twenty five tree team trees tree teams out

854
00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:07,840
Speaker 2: delivering trees. So we set up two hundred Christmas trees,

855
00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:12,800
Speaker 2: decorated Christmas trees for families. I have seventy two wrapping

856
00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:17,560
Speaker 2: teams of ten people each. I have seventy probably plus

857
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:22,160
Speaker 2: shopping teams of ten people each, all shopping at the

858
00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:26,680
Speaker 2: same time. I have twenty six delivery teams out delivering,

859
00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,000
Speaker 2: and we take over a Toyota dealership. They shut down

860
00:51:30,040 --> 00:51:33,160
Speaker 2: a car dealership for one day on a Saturday, the

861
00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:35,600
Speaker 2: only place probably the United States that happened. These gots.

862
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:37,880
Speaker 2: Now not only that they shut it down, but sold

863
00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:40,520
Speaker 2: ten cars that day. I just want to say, and

864
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:44,680
Speaker 2: that all happens at the same time. Besides people we have.

865
00:51:44,719 --> 00:51:46,840
Speaker 1: Why did they shut down the car dealership?

866
00:51:47,120 --> 00:51:50,239
Speaker 2: Well because he because they had people trying to come

867
00:51:50,239 --> 00:51:55,640
Speaker 2: on the onto the lot. And what do you usus facility?

868
00:51:56,320 --> 00:51:59,120
Speaker 2: We wrap and deliver out of their facility. It's right

869
00:51:59,120 --> 00:52:02,640
Speaker 2: across the street form of each other. So I'm going

870
00:52:02,719 --> 00:52:05,560
Speaker 2: to give you the rat here's the rabbit trail. So

871
00:52:05,960 --> 00:52:09,160
Speaker 2: seven hundred people. They put me in a lift, a

872
00:52:09,719 --> 00:52:12,200
Speaker 2: man lift in the front of Meyer because I can't

873
00:52:12,200 --> 00:52:15,319
Speaker 2: talk to everybody. There's seven hundred people at the registers,

874
00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:18,120
Speaker 2: all crowded around this man lift to give them the

875
00:52:18,160 --> 00:52:21,320
Speaker 2: instructions on how much we're going to spend per family

876
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:24,520
Speaker 2: or per person. So we give them all the instructions.

877
00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:27,399
Speaker 2: We welcome them, I cry, I tell a story, blah

878
00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:29,959
Speaker 2: blah blah, every bdy collapse a little bit. We all

879
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:32,360
Speaker 2: go okay, we're ready to go. And then these teams,

880
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:36,160
Speaker 2: seventy teams with ten people each launch and they literally

881
00:52:36,520 --> 00:52:40,880
Speaker 2: look Meyer looks like it's been robbed when we're doing so,

882
00:52:42,680 --> 00:52:46,360
Speaker 2: I drop one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars in

883
00:52:46,560 --> 00:52:49,640
Speaker 2: four hours in one that's just in the one Meyer

884
00:52:49,719 --> 00:52:53,480
Speaker 2: store here that we're shopping at. So there's seven hundred

885
00:52:53,480 --> 00:52:56,600
Speaker 2: people go out and everything is put in bags. So

886
00:52:56,640 --> 00:52:58,680
Speaker 2: we have these big bags that I could put you in,

887
00:52:59,239 --> 00:53:01,440
Speaker 2: and we have these big mile Our bags. Every bag

888
00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:05,600
Speaker 2: has a somebody's name on it. We buy for all

889
00:53:05,760 --> 00:53:08,799
Speaker 2: children and everybody in the half. Grandma's living in the house,

890
00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:12,880
Speaker 2: Grandma gets a present. We don't want the kids to say, Grandma,

891
00:53:13,120 --> 00:53:16,160
Speaker 2: were you naughty? Did you not get a present? Everybody

892
00:53:16,160 --> 00:53:18,839
Speaker 2: gets a present. So everybody has a bag. They're all

893
00:53:18,960 --> 00:53:21,959
Speaker 2: rolled up. Five everybody has a bag, and then there's

894
00:53:22,040 --> 00:53:25,520
Speaker 2: five shopping lists rolled up with rubber bands around and

895
00:53:25,560 --> 00:53:28,719
Speaker 2: there's a family number. Nobody knows the last names of

896
00:53:28,760 --> 00:53:32,000
Speaker 2: the family, but al Holdron. That's the secret part. So

897
00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:35,360
Speaker 2: that way people shopping, they could be shopping for their neighbor.

898
00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:38,719
Speaker 2: We don't want them to know that. They pull those

899
00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:42,080
Speaker 2: bags out and then they have a shopping list I've had.

900
00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:46,200
Speaker 2: I've got thirty ladies who have interviewed every one of

901
00:53:46,239 --> 00:53:48,879
Speaker 2: the families. Three hundred and eighty five families all got

902
00:53:48,920 --> 00:53:51,800
Speaker 2: interviewed prior to that. So we have an interview team,

903
00:53:52,320 --> 00:53:55,239
Speaker 2: we have a data entry team, we have an IT

904
00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:58,720
Speaker 2: team that does all the routing of all these together.

905
00:53:59,200 --> 00:54:03,040
Speaker 2: That's all done prior to that makes up one hundred

906
00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:06,239
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty people. So then it comes over to us.

907
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:08,960
Speaker 2: We have all these We have these big bins of

908
00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,560
Speaker 2: these ABCD and E. Those are all our deliveries that

909
00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:15,560
Speaker 2: go out and they deliver three. They take three families

910
00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:18,359
Speaker 2: at a time to deliver. So the shopping goes on.

911
00:54:18,719 --> 00:54:22,239
Speaker 2: We come through ten shopping lanes and they're lined up

912
00:54:22,280 --> 00:54:27,000
Speaker 2: behind them for twenty yards of carts behind each lane,

913
00:54:27,320 --> 00:54:29,719
Speaker 2: checking out, and we have a team of people that

914
00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:33,040
Speaker 2: do nothing but swipe thousand dollars gift cards. They just

915
00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:36,200
Speaker 2: stand there and swipe cards and check them out. If

916
00:54:36,239 --> 00:54:39,200
Speaker 2: the people go over the limit of eighty dollars a person,

917
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:41,920
Speaker 2: the people coming through the line, we either have to

918
00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:45,480
Speaker 2: remove a gift or they take out their credit card

919
00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:47,920
Speaker 2: and they swipe it. They can buy as much for

920
00:54:47,960 --> 00:54:51,040
Speaker 2: anybody as they want. They make up the difference themselves, yes,

921
00:54:51,239 --> 00:54:54,240
Speaker 2: and if they don't, they put something back. I've never

922
00:54:54,280 --> 00:54:59,080
Speaker 2: put anything back, and items a difference they these they

923
00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:01,560
Speaker 2: raise their own mind than that they don't give to me.

924
00:55:01,680 --> 00:55:04,160
Speaker 2: They may have sponsored a family with me for five

925
00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:06,520
Speaker 2: point fifty, but they come with their own credit card.

926
00:55:06,719 --> 00:55:09,960
Speaker 2: And I have people that spend probably over probably one

927
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:13,279
Speaker 2: thousand to fifteen hundred dollars because they if they think

928
00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:15,560
Speaker 2: the lady should have a new pair of boots and

929
00:55:15,560 --> 00:55:18,200
Speaker 2: they're one hundred bucks and that's over our limit, they

930
00:55:18,280 --> 00:55:20,080
Speaker 2: just sweat. They don't care.

931
00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:23,759
Speaker 1: And so from there, all this stuff goes to this dealership.

932
00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:24,799
Speaker 2: Yep, it all comes out.

933
00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:25,040
Speaker 1: Now.

934
00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:29,400
Speaker 2: I have twenty friends with trucks outside of Meyer lined

935
00:55:29,480 --> 00:55:32,000
Speaker 2: up in front, and those drivers never get out of

936
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:36,560
Speaker 2: their truck. Now we're only driving one thousand yards, but

937
00:55:36,600 --> 00:55:39,719
Speaker 2: it's across the road and over to toy Toyota. The

938
00:55:39,760 --> 00:55:43,080
Speaker 2: bag all these bags come out as a family, they

939
00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:45,919
Speaker 2: get checked off, they get put in a truck by

940
00:55:46,040 --> 00:55:49,080
Speaker 2: a Ball State baseball team. They load the trucks. The

941
00:55:49,120 --> 00:55:53,880
Speaker 2: trucks drive over. We have another Ball State team unloads

942
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:57,359
Speaker 2: all the bags and they're set up in rows by

943
00:55:58,280 --> 00:56:01,440
Speaker 2: family numbers one through fifty up through three point fifty

944
00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:06,719
Speaker 2: through four hundred. Outside. They're staged outside and then inside

945
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:09,200
Speaker 2: in the showroom. They have cleaned out the entire showroom.

946
00:56:09,600 --> 00:56:13,279
Speaker 2: There is twenty six to thirty wrapping teams. We have

947
00:56:13,440 --> 00:56:18,080
Speaker 2: three shifts of two hours each inside the dealership. That's

948
00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:23,640
Speaker 2: another three hundred people per shift inside wrapping presents. And

949
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:25,560
Speaker 2: then they wrap for two hours and we throw them

950
00:56:25,600 --> 00:56:27,520
Speaker 2: out and they have to go and then they leave

951
00:56:27,680 --> 00:56:29,960
Speaker 2: and then another shift comes in. We have so many

952
00:56:30,040 --> 00:56:32,279
Speaker 2: people wanting to volunteer, we have to do it in

953
00:56:32,360 --> 00:56:35,840
Speaker 2: shifts to build more places for them. So they wrap

954
00:56:35,880 --> 00:56:38,719
Speaker 2: all the presents, they get put back in the bags,

955
00:56:39,680 --> 00:56:42,399
Speaker 2: they tie up the handle, and then the Ball State

956
00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:45,960
Speaker 2: golf teams, men's and women's golf teams and another local

957
00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:48,440
Speaker 2: high school baseball team carry them to the back to

958
00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:52,560
Speaker 2: the service area. They get restaged again for deliveries, and

959
00:56:52,600 --> 00:56:56,440
Speaker 2: then the delivery teams. Twenty six delivery teams come up,

960
00:56:56,920 --> 00:57:00,480
Speaker 2: take three bag, three families, and they're off delivering. They deliver.

961
00:57:00,719 --> 00:57:04,520
Speaker 2: They make five runs of three bags each and they

962
00:57:04,560 --> 00:57:07,040
Speaker 2: go out and deliver. All of this is going on

963
00:57:07,440 --> 00:57:11,760
Speaker 2: at the same time, so meyer trees are being delivered,

964
00:57:12,040 --> 00:57:15,880
Speaker 2: packages are being delivered, others for later deliveries are being wrapped.

965
00:57:16,200 --> 00:57:18,480
Speaker 2: All the teams are moving on all these bags. So

966
00:57:18,560 --> 00:57:22,840
Speaker 2: we'll have twenty two hundred bags that we have and

967
00:57:22,880 --> 00:57:26,520
Speaker 2: they're just a big, large, clear garbage bags that have

968
00:57:26,520 --> 00:57:30,440
Speaker 2: people's written named them. Plus there's a team of seventy

969
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:35,520
Speaker 2: people that came the Thursday night before that mark all

970
00:57:35,560 --> 00:57:37,600
Speaker 2: the bags. Somebody has to put those names in the bank.

971
00:57:37,800 --> 00:57:40,800
Speaker 2: So we take over a church gymnasium and those people

972
00:57:40,840 --> 00:57:44,400
Speaker 2: on tables come with with I'm surprised they're not all

973
00:57:44,480 --> 00:57:47,640
Speaker 2: high when they leave because all that sharply smell is

974
00:57:47,720 --> 00:57:51,600
Speaker 2: going on out there, and build the next night after that.

975
00:57:51,920 --> 00:57:54,840
Speaker 2: The other thing that people get now they get a box.

976
00:57:55,080 --> 00:58:00,400
Speaker 2: They get a toiletry box that has toilet paper paper, towels, shampoo,

977
00:58:00,800 --> 00:58:03,520
Speaker 2: and then there is a group of thirty people that

978
00:58:03,640 --> 00:58:07,120
Speaker 2: come over to another facility and they packed four hundred

979
00:58:07,120 --> 00:58:10,880
Speaker 2: of these boxes. So every family gets toiletries for the

980
00:58:10,960 --> 00:58:15,040
Speaker 2: month or maybe a coup razors, shampoo, deodorant and all that,

981
00:58:15,080 --> 00:58:17,800
Speaker 2: and that was added later on, so that that's an

982
00:58:17,840 --> 00:58:20,800
Speaker 2: add on to the things that we give them. That's

983
00:58:20,880 --> 00:58:23,720
Speaker 2: the game, that's the that's the rabbit trail goes on.

984
00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:26,080
Speaker 2: So this goes on and then at four o'clock we're

985
00:58:26,120 --> 00:58:29,560
Speaker 2: sweeping up. We wrap everything up, and then the tradition

986
00:58:29,800 --> 00:58:33,000
Speaker 2: is I take my entire family. My family is not

987
00:58:33,120 --> 00:58:50,840
Speaker 2: allowed to thump their chest, be proud. Sort three hundred

988
00:58:50,840 --> 00:58:54,919
Speaker 2: and sixty four days and twenty three hours a year.

989
00:58:55,280 --> 00:58:57,800
Speaker 2: We don't don't we don't want to talk about it,

990
00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:00,360
Speaker 2: we don't brag about it. We just raise money. I

991
00:59:00,400 --> 00:59:03,160
Speaker 2: have to raise all that money in six weeks every year.

992
00:59:05,440 --> 00:59:15,520
Speaker 2: They just work. But one hour when we're done, when

993
00:59:15,600 --> 00:59:17,520
Speaker 2: we go to dinner. This is my immediate family and

994
00:59:17,560 --> 00:59:21,160
Speaker 2: my wife, my two girls, their husbands, my little granddaughter.

995
00:59:21,800 --> 00:59:26,240
Speaker 2: For one hour, we talk about how freaking awesome we are.

996
00:59:27,040 --> 00:59:29,640
Speaker 2: We celebrate for the deal. We talk about one hour

997
00:59:29,720 --> 00:59:32,200
Speaker 2: and I mean, everything's on the table and we're at

998
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:36,760
Speaker 2: a restaurant and there is and we're at the boys

999
00:59:36,840 --> 00:59:39,000
Speaker 2: or whoever would like to have a drink. That's fine.

1000
00:59:39,160 --> 00:59:41,800
Speaker 2: We order, rabbize and we talk about how freaking great

1001
00:59:41,840 --> 00:59:44,560
Speaker 2: we are for one hour. And then when it's done,

1002
00:59:44,560 --> 00:59:46,400
Speaker 2: when we get up from the table, it's a new

1003
00:59:46,480 --> 00:59:49,080
Speaker 2: year and we start all over again. But we do

1004
00:59:49,200 --> 00:59:51,600
Speaker 2: not allowed to talk about that. You need to be

1005
00:59:51,680 --> 00:59:55,120
Speaker 2: humble about this. We give glory, We give glory to God.

1006
00:59:55,160 --> 00:59:57,800
Speaker 2: We get we're there to serve Jesus that day. That

1007
00:59:57,880 --> 01:00:00,480
Speaker 2: it's all we do, and that's who we you are.

1008
01:00:00,680 --> 01:00:04,120
Speaker 2: But one day, that one hour I asked for. I

1009
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:07,360
Speaker 2: asked for one hour to just talk about we killed it.

1010
01:00:07,480 --> 01:00:10,680
Speaker 2: We're freaking awesome. You've got. If you don't celebrate once

1011
01:00:10,680 --> 01:00:12,680
Speaker 2: in a while they're there, you're not working toward anything.

1012
01:00:12,920 --> 01:00:14,800
Speaker 2: There's got to be a little bit of a celebration.

1013
01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:18,200
Speaker 2: And we're hugging and high fiveing, and everybody in the

1014
01:00:18,200 --> 01:00:21,280
Speaker 2: restaurant's wondering, who the hell are these guys, and they're nuts.

1015
01:00:21,920 --> 01:00:24,840
Speaker 2: That's the Holder and family, and it's funny we did that.

1016
01:00:24,840 --> 01:00:27,880
Speaker 2: As a tradition. There's a gentleman in the back. I've

1017
01:00:27,880 --> 01:00:31,760
Speaker 2: got several teams. Bill, there's three or four teams. I

1018
01:00:31,840 --> 01:00:35,320
Speaker 2: call them sloppers. They're my sloppers. And what they are,

1019
01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:38,480
Speaker 2: they're groups of guys that really don't want to be

1020
01:00:38,520 --> 01:00:41,960
Speaker 2: assigned to a job. So what they'll do anything I

1021
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:45,360
Speaker 2: ask there a lot of most Sometimes that's I could

1022
01:00:45,360 --> 01:00:47,160
Speaker 2: you just go give McDonald's and get me a coke?

1023
01:00:47,200 --> 01:00:49,920
Speaker 2: I haveing anything to drink all day? And they they

1024
01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:52,000
Speaker 2: run down and they come back with some apple pies

1025
01:00:52,040 --> 01:00:54,280
Speaker 2: and that could you go set this one tree up

1026
01:00:54,280 --> 01:00:56,960
Speaker 2: that got forgot Johnny didn't get his bag and got

1027
01:00:57,040 --> 01:00:59,920
Speaker 2: kicked under a table. Can you run that across the country,

1028
01:01:00,080 --> 01:01:02,880
Speaker 2: across the county? I shouldn't say and drop that bag off.

1029
01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:05,440
Speaker 2: They just do whatever. They fill all my holes for me.

1030
01:01:06,160 --> 01:01:09,440
Speaker 2: There's one of those gentlemen who he happened to be

1031
01:01:09,440 --> 01:01:12,720
Speaker 2: at the restaurant with his wife when we were there

1032
01:01:12,760 --> 01:01:14,880
Speaker 2: all eating that one year and we got ready to

1033
01:01:14,960 --> 01:01:18,160
Speaker 2: leave and the bill was paid. We paid a two

1034
01:01:18,200 --> 01:01:23,000
Speaker 2: hundred dollar bill on that, and we didn't know who

1035
01:01:23,040 --> 01:01:25,280
Speaker 2: he was. I didn't know he'd done that. I finally

1036
01:01:25,320 --> 01:01:27,760
Speaker 2: had to get the waitress to you know, through charades

1037
01:01:27,800 --> 01:01:31,040
Speaker 2: to figure out who he was. And actually she went

1038
01:01:31,080 --> 01:01:33,600
Speaker 2: and pulled his credit card and told me his name,

1039
01:01:33,600 --> 01:01:35,200
Speaker 2: and I knew who it was then at that point.

1040
01:01:35,520 --> 01:01:38,600
Speaker 2: Now he said, I hear you looked me up because

1041
01:01:38,600 --> 01:01:40,600
Speaker 2: the gal told him. Next I met him in the restaurant,

1042
01:01:40,680 --> 01:01:43,360
Speaker 2: I said, big gal one who was buying the meal.

1043
01:01:43,400 --> 01:01:46,200
Speaker 2: And I'm like, so now he just comes up and

1044
01:01:46,640 --> 01:01:50,600
Speaker 2: we called the two hundred dollar handshake. So now as

1045
01:01:50,600 --> 01:01:53,200
Speaker 2: he's leaving that evening, he walks up and he's got

1046
01:01:53,240 --> 01:01:55,520
Speaker 2: two one hundred dollar bills. When we shake hands, there's

1047
01:01:55,520 --> 01:01:57,680
Speaker 2: two hundred dollars in my hand. He said, just buy

1048
01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:02,400
Speaker 2: your family dinner. I appreciate you you allowing me to

1049
01:02:02,560 --> 01:02:06,720
Speaker 2: be involved with something we never did anything philanthropy whatsoever.

1050
01:02:07,240 --> 01:02:10,480
Speaker 2: Thanks for allowing me to be involved with this. It

1051
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:13,160
Speaker 2: serves me much better than any of the families you serve.

1052
01:02:14,440 --> 01:02:17,800
Speaker 2: That answers a question you asked earlier. And I think

1053
01:02:17,880 --> 01:02:21,959
Speaker 2: that our volunteers are much more blessed than anybody any

1054
01:02:21,960 --> 01:02:23,480
Speaker 2: family I've ever taken a gift.

1055
01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:27,280
Speaker 1: To, well, I have said a thousand times. The payoff

1056
01:02:27,320 --> 01:02:29,120
Speaker 1: to this kind of work is you get a thousand

1057
01:02:29,200 --> 01:02:30,880
Speaker 1: times more out of it than you put into it.

1058
01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:33,920
Speaker 2: Oh, there is no doubt. And that's a low number.

1059
01:02:34,120 --> 01:02:36,280
Speaker 2: I think a thousands, even a low number. Year you

1060
01:02:36,360 --> 01:02:37,840
Speaker 2: are so, you're so right.

1061
01:02:43,160 --> 01:02:55,400
Speaker 1: We'll be right back. It's interesting that Indiana has a

1062
01:02:55,440 --> 01:02:58,080
Speaker 1: city or town called Santa Claus Indiana.

1063
01:02:58,240 --> 01:03:02,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, down south. Yeah, and if you ever get

1064
01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:04,920
Speaker 2: a chance to go, it's crazy.

1065
01:03:04,920 --> 01:03:08,960
Speaker 1: Well, and you're six two two ninety. I'm just wondering

1066
01:03:09,080 --> 01:03:13,200
Speaker 1: if Big Al and Santa Claus, Indiana and Muncie are

1067
01:03:13,320 --> 01:03:19,400
Speaker 1: somehow in this weird cosmic Twilight way combined. Because Al,

1068
01:03:20,560 --> 01:03:26,120
Speaker 1: for so many children in your community, you are Santa.

1069
01:03:25,800 --> 01:03:33,360
Speaker 3: Claus's I'd say that's probably a fair statement. We had

1070
01:03:33,400 --> 01:03:38,919
Speaker 3: a great story this year that's continuing and you're gonna

1071
01:03:38,960 --> 01:03:39,640
Speaker 3: love this bill.

1072
01:03:39,880 --> 01:03:44,920
Speaker 2: This is this may be the story of all Christmas stories. Actually,

1073
01:03:45,040 --> 01:03:47,120
Speaker 2: they'll end up making a movie of this. Sometime. You'll

1074
01:03:47,160 --> 01:03:50,720
Speaker 2: be involved with this. You'll be right in the middle

1075
01:03:50,720 --> 01:03:56,520
Speaker 2: of this, or should be there. We have We have

1076
01:03:56,800 --> 01:03:59,240
Speaker 2: a gentleman who I did not know growing up, and

1077
01:04:00,000 --> 01:04:03,000
Speaker 2: played tennis in high school with his brother, who is

1078
01:04:03,000 --> 01:04:05,000
Speaker 2: the best.

1079
01:04:05,160 --> 01:04:08,120
Speaker 1: You played tennis in high school. I'm sorry to interrupt you,

1080
01:04:08,160 --> 01:04:09,360
Speaker 1: but that's a whole wow.

1081
01:04:10,040 --> 01:04:14,920
Speaker 2: Yeah, Big big. That's probably the biggest tennis player. We

1082
01:04:14,960 --> 01:04:17,680
Speaker 2: can play. I can play my daughter, Maddie, my youngest,

1083
01:04:17,680 --> 01:04:23,000
Speaker 2: played collegiately for all of that. Nazarene say you that's

1084
01:04:23,120 --> 01:04:29,120
Speaker 2: that's not six point five, but in high school it

1085
01:04:29,200 --> 01:04:30,440
Speaker 2: was six two to twenty.

1086
01:04:31,040 --> 01:04:33,800
Speaker 1: I got you a little more mobile and.

1087
01:04:34,120 --> 01:04:38,120
Speaker 2: A little uh, a little fewer sugar cream pies, which

1088
01:04:38,160 --> 01:04:42,120
Speaker 2: is that's fair enough. I need to and I need

1089
01:04:42,120 --> 01:04:43,479
Speaker 2: to send you a sugar cream pie.

1090
01:04:43,560 --> 01:04:47,520
Speaker 1: Have your du to uh No, but I'm certain I

1091
01:04:47,560 --> 01:04:48,160
Speaker 1: would love it.

1092
01:04:48,360 --> 01:04:50,800
Speaker 2: We would you would love it. Well, X makes him

1093
01:04:50,800 --> 01:04:53,400
Speaker 2: over in Winchester. We'll we'll get some of the mail

1094
01:04:53,440 --> 01:04:57,120
Speaker 2: to you. You'll give me all of that. The the

1095
01:04:57,200 --> 01:05:01,040
Speaker 2: story goes. We have the coolest Santa Claus. I mean,

1096
01:05:01,040 --> 01:05:04,800
Speaker 2: this dude looks like Santa Claus. I mean I actually

1097
01:05:04,840 --> 01:05:07,880
Speaker 2: believe he is. I think he just moonlights as the

1098
01:05:07,920 --> 01:05:13,480
Speaker 2: parts manager at a Chrysler dealership on the side. But

1099
01:05:13,600 --> 01:05:17,840
Speaker 2: he has come every year, probably for ten years, and

1100
01:05:17,880 --> 01:05:20,520
Speaker 2: he just comes and he's in full battle mode. I

1101
01:05:20,560 --> 01:05:23,400
Speaker 2: mean he is. He is it, and he is he

1102
01:05:23,520 --> 01:05:26,560
Speaker 2: is the part. He never breaks stray, he never breaks it,

1103
01:05:26,720 --> 01:05:32,560
Speaker 2: even with adults. He talks. It is unbelievable. So he

1104
01:05:32,600 --> 01:05:36,120
Speaker 2: always just randomly picks one of the delivery teams and

1105
01:05:36,200 --> 01:05:40,200
Speaker 2: goes out on believe me, those fifteen families of kids.

1106
01:05:40,600 --> 01:05:43,040
Speaker 2: So he is the first guy up with a bag

1107
01:05:43,080 --> 01:05:46,800
Speaker 2: of presents over his shoulder on their doorstep. Dude, it

1108
01:05:46,880 --> 01:05:50,920
Speaker 2: is so cool. So this year, we have a family

1109
01:05:51,160 --> 01:05:55,480
Speaker 2: that's living in a facility called Christian Ministries and they

1110
01:05:55,480 --> 01:05:58,600
Speaker 2: have a couple apartments upstairs, and it's just that they

1111
01:05:58,720 --> 01:06:02,360
Speaker 2: provide food and clothing to homeless and anybody can just

1112
01:06:02,360 --> 01:06:04,800
Speaker 2: walk in during the day get a meal and that kind.

1113
01:06:04,880 --> 01:06:08,000
Speaker 2: They have these two really really nice apartments up above

1114
01:06:08,080 --> 01:06:10,960
Speaker 2: the second story of this building. That was one of

1115
01:06:10,960 --> 01:06:13,720
Speaker 2: the families we're going to serve. My oldest daughter, Katie.

1116
01:06:15,080 --> 01:06:17,400
Speaker 2: I get an email from her as she's doing the

1117
01:06:17,480 --> 01:06:21,600
Speaker 2: data entry. The callers put a special note and stapled

1118
01:06:21,640 --> 01:06:24,120
Speaker 2: on it and said you may want to call this lady. Okay.

1119
01:06:24,120 --> 01:06:27,520
Speaker 2: He's like, okay, she called her. The little boy is

1120
01:06:27,640 --> 01:06:31,320
Speaker 2: nine years old. The only thing that he asked for

1121
01:06:31,320 --> 01:06:35,640
Speaker 2: for Christmas was a Santa outfit. He wants to be

1122
01:06:36,120 --> 01:06:40,920
Speaker 2: Santa Claus. That's it. No other presence know nothing else.

1123
01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:44,680
Speaker 2: They end up buying other things too, just but really

1124
01:06:44,680 --> 01:06:47,000
Speaker 2: they didn't give anything else in that So Katie. I

1125
01:06:47,040 --> 01:06:50,120
Speaker 2: told Katie, I said, you get on Amazon and you

1126
01:06:50,240 --> 01:06:55,080
Speaker 2: buy one. It doesn't matter what it costs. She goes, Dad,

1127
01:06:55,120 --> 01:06:58,520
Speaker 2: we always have a budget. These my girls are real followers. Dad,

1128
01:06:58,560 --> 01:07:03,919
Speaker 2: we have a budget. I said, you have a budget.

1129
01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:06,760
Speaker 2: I have no budget. I do what I want. You

1130
01:07:06,760 --> 01:07:09,440
Speaker 2: remember who that? She goes, Oh, that's right, you're the dictator.

1131
01:07:09,480 --> 01:07:12,080
Speaker 2: I just thought that was on the first Saturday in December.

1132
01:07:12,280 --> 01:07:15,360
Speaker 2: I said it is. And in this conversation, I said,

1133
01:07:15,560 --> 01:07:18,400
Speaker 2: buy a nice one. I don't want some paper, cheap thing.

1134
01:07:18,600 --> 01:07:21,160
Speaker 2: I want a good one. So she did, found one

1135
01:07:21,400 --> 01:07:24,520
Speaker 2: very reasonable, had it shipped to our house, put on

1136
01:07:24,520 --> 01:07:27,520
Speaker 2: my credit card. The way we go. So we have

1137
01:07:27,600 --> 01:07:31,520
Speaker 2: to do some moving around because Santa's got some commitments

1138
01:07:31,960 --> 01:07:33,280
Speaker 2: middle of the day, so it's got to be on

1139
01:07:33,320 --> 01:07:36,280
Speaker 2: the first delivery route going out. So we flip flopped

1140
01:07:36,320 --> 01:07:38,440
Speaker 2: some stuff around. I usually screwed it up a little bit,

1141
01:07:38,920 --> 01:07:41,440
Speaker 2: and so Santa goes out, He's the first family delivered.

1142
01:07:41,880 --> 01:07:45,959
Speaker 2: So I'm going to have my Santa deliver it. Because

1143
01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:51,960
Speaker 2: this little boy believes, he absolutely believes Santa Claus delivered

1144
01:07:52,520 --> 01:07:59,439
Speaker 2: a Santa suit to Junior Santa. And see, we don't

1145
01:07:59,480 --> 01:08:01,680
Speaker 2: have pictures of any of these families that we've ever

1146
01:08:01,760 --> 01:08:05,280
Speaker 2: delivered to because we're not We don't we have We

1147
01:08:05,280 --> 01:08:10,160
Speaker 2: would have to get permission from the schools and families,

1148
01:08:10,160 --> 01:08:11,680
Speaker 2: and we don't want anybody to know who they are.

1149
01:08:11,800 --> 01:08:14,920
Speaker 2: So nobody's allowed to take pictures. If the family asked

1150
01:08:14,960 --> 01:08:17,760
Speaker 2: for it or allows it, or takes a picture, they

1151
01:08:17,800 --> 01:08:20,679
Speaker 2: can sign off on it. But we don't even ask them.

1152
01:08:21,000 --> 01:08:24,000
Speaker 2: But this little this, this lady I asked. I called

1153
01:08:24,000 --> 01:08:26,720
Speaker 2: to the mom and said, would you be okay if

1154
01:08:26,720 --> 01:08:29,759
Speaker 2: we had some if we took some pictures because Santah

1155
01:08:29,800 --> 01:08:33,160
Speaker 2: wanted pictures with him with and she said, oh, absolutely,

1156
01:08:33,200 --> 01:08:36,040
Speaker 2: we don't care. That's that's no problem whatsoever. So we

1157
01:08:36,120 --> 01:08:40,000
Speaker 2: have pictures with him delivering that Santa. And the kid

1158
01:08:40,240 --> 01:08:42,559
Speaker 2: ran right in, took his clothes off, put the Santa

1159
01:08:42,560 --> 01:08:45,640
Speaker 2: suit on, come back out. So there's Junior Sanna with

1160
01:08:45,800 --> 01:08:52,720
Speaker 2: the big Sannah. The mother calls me yesterday, she said,

1161
01:08:52,760 --> 01:08:55,240
Speaker 2: mister older, and I said, yes, she goes, I have

1162
01:08:55,320 --> 01:09:00,040
Speaker 2: a request. My son has asked me something and I

1163
01:08:59,880 --> 01:09:02,880
Speaker 2: know that it's and the kids standing right there. So

1164
01:09:02,960 --> 01:09:04,680
Speaker 2: we have to her and I have to have this

1165
01:09:05,120 --> 01:09:09,200
Speaker 2: correct conversation. And she goes, it's about Sanna. I said,

1166
01:09:09,240 --> 01:09:12,240
Speaker 2: oh yeah, I said. She goes, how busy is he?

1167
01:09:13,439 --> 01:09:15,800
Speaker 2: I said, well, you know, this time of the year,

1168
01:09:15,840 --> 01:09:18,720
Speaker 2: he's got elves making presents and you know he's got

1169
01:09:18,840 --> 01:09:22,080
Speaker 2: he's got me on speakerphone with this little boy, I said.

1170
01:09:22,560 --> 01:09:24,320
Speaker 2: I said, I don't know. We delivered some he had

1171
01:09:24,320 --> 01:09:26,320
Speaker 2: to get some alfalfa the other day for Hey, the

1172
01:09:26,760 --> 01:09:29,439
Speaker 2: reindeer like alfalfa, so we had dropped some. We had

1173
01:09:29,520 --> 01:09:32,720
Speaker 2: dropped some hay off to him, and you know he's

1174
01:09:32,760 --> 01:09:34,599
Speaker 2: got he's working with all the elves and they're all

1175
01:09:34,680 --> 01:09:36,760
Speaker 2: kind of crazy and you know, so we're playing this

1176
01:09:36,880 --> 01:09:40,040
Speaker 2: up for this kid. I said, well, why do you ask?

1177
01:09:40,840 --> 01:09:44,720
Speaker 2: She said, well, my son would like to have milk

1178
01:09:44,800 --> 01:09:55,320
Speaker 2: and cookies with Sanna Bill Bill dude, winter chicken dinner.

1179
01:09:55,479 --> 01:09:56,000
Speaker 2: I don't have.

1180
01:09:56,160 --> 01:09:56,400
Speaker 1: I don't.

1181
01:09:56,439 --> 01:09:59,439
Speaker 2: I haven't got better stories than this. So I so

1182
01:09:59,479 --> 01:10:03,040
Speaker 2: I called Sam and Santa and he is at.

1183
01:10:02,960 --> 01:10:05,040
Speaker 1: The at the part store. You called Santa over at

1184
01:10:05,040 --> 01:10:05,599
Speaker 1: the part store.

1185
01:10:05,680 --> 01:10:08,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know your ram might need a you know,

1186
01:10:08,439 --> 01:10:13,920
Speaker 2: might need a head gasket, right, So, so I said, Santa.

1187
01:10:14,040 --> 01:10:19,240
Speaker 2: He goes, yes, he said, I said, junior Santa would

1188
01:10:19,320 --> 01:10:21,720
Speaker 2: like to have milk and cookies with you. He goes anytime,

1189
01:10:21,960 --> 01:10:24,400
Speaker 2: he said, I will take I will whatever you want,

1190
01:10:24,520 --> 01:10:28,000
Speaker 2: just tell me when and wear And because he's he

1191
01:10:28,040 --> 01:10:30,120
Speaker 2: really has a lot of gigs this time of the

1192
01:10:30,240 --> 01:10:33,120
Speaker 2: year in the evening, yeah, and the weekends. And he goes,

1193
01:10:33,200 --> 01:10:36,000
Speaker 2: no problem. So we've set it up. So she's calling

1194
01:10:36,080 --> 01:10:38,920
Speaker 2: Sanna to set it up, and we're going to a

1195
01:10:39,000 --> 01:10:42,720
Speaker 2: local caffeinery coffee shop to have and they're going to

1196
01:10:42,800 --> 01:10:44,840
Speaker 2: come and he's kind of the kids coming in his

1197
01:10:44,960 --> 01:10:47,040
Speaker 2: suit and Sanna is going to be in a suit

1198
01:10:47,320 --> 01:10:50,040
Speaker 2: and we're going to a caffeinery to have hot chocolate

1199
01:10:50,080 --> 01:10:53,320
Speaker 2: and brownies or cookies or whatever the kid wants here

1200
01:10:53,439 --> 01:10:55,639
Speaker 2: sometime next week now.

1201
01:10:55,800 --> 01:10:58,879
Speaker 1: And this is a boy. This is with out secret

1202
01:10:58,880 --> 01:11:01,519
Speaker 1: families that wouldn't have even had a.

1203
01:11:01,520 --> 01:11:04,040
Speaker 2: Tree, wouldn't even have it, wouldn't have a Christmas tree.

1204
01:11:04,479 --> 01:11:07,280
Speaker 2: They they've got Christmas tree, They've got Christmas. It's just

1205
01:11:07,360 --> 01:11:10,400
Speaker 2: him and her mom. In one moment, I'm sorry that's doing.

1206
01:11:10,520 --> 01:11:13,679
Speaker 2: She has an older son. There is one older son

1207
01:11:13,720 --> 01:11:16,320
Speaker 2: that's not in the house. I mean, he's nine years old.

1208
01:11:16,600 --> 01:11:20,240
Speaker 2: Wouldn't have had anything whatsoever because they're living in a

1209
01:11:20,479 --> 01:11:23,599
Speaker 2: place that takes care of homeless. So this kid will

1210
01:11:23,600 --> 01:11:27,000
Speaker 2: tell this story for the rest of his life. And

1211
01:11:27,000 --> 01:11:29,320
Speaker 2: now you unbelievable.

1212
01:11:29,439 --> 01:11:35,240
Speaker 1: Twenty five hundred volunteers all in one day, spending about

1213
01:11:35,280 --> 01:11:42,719
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand dollars on one day, serving

1214
01:11:43,600 --> 01:11:49,920
Speaker 1: two to three hundred families every Christmas, all because Chris

1215
01:11:50,000 --> 01:11:53,800
Speaker 1: came home one day and said, ow, get the money

1216
01:11:53,840 --> 01:11:56,040
Speaker 1: out of your shop drawer, and let's not spend it

1217
01:11:56,080 --> 01:11:59,559
Speaker 1: on sweaters that we don't need. Let's exact some measure

1218
01:11:59,600 --> 01:12:03,080
Speaker 1: of kai for a single family. And all of that

1219
01:12:03,360 --> 01:12:07,799
Speaker 1: has led to how many families have had Christmas because

1220
01:12:07,840 --> 01:12:09,120
Speaker 1: of this organization.

1221
01:12:09,640 --> 01:12:12,920
Speaker 2: Today I went through and I knew you were going

1222
01:12:13,000 --> 01:12:14,639
Speaker 2: to ask that question, so I did a little matt

1223
01:12:15,000 --> 01:12:17,000
Speaker 2: and this is what we would refer to as out math.

1224
01:12:17,040 --> 01:12:19,840
Speaker 2: Remember the eighty seven percent, Yeah, I got it, Okay,

1225
01:12:20,200 --> 01:12:21,519
Speaker 2: eighty six hundred families.

1226
01:12:25,040 --> 01:12:28,280
Speaker 1: I know that I know that we're outside of the

1227
01:12:29,240 --> 01:12:34,639
Speaker 1: RIBBI one hour Holden's are allowed to admit they're above

1228
01:12:34,640 --> 01:12:39,160
Speaker 1: a six point five meal, So we're going to have

1229
01:12:39,200 --> 01:12:42,000
Speaker 1: to break into that for the purposes of the show.

1230
01:12:43,920 --> 01:12:47,120
Speaker 1: Eighty six hundred families out have you have you have,

1231
01:12:47,280 --> 01:12:50,200
Speaker 1: you and Chris and your family looked yourselves in the

1232
01:12:50,240 --> 01:12:55,960
Speaker 1: mirror and really thought that maybe the North Pole is

1233
01:12:56,000 --> 01:13:05,040
Speaker 1: in Yorktown, Indiana.

1234
01:13:09,080 --> 01:13:13,599
Speaker 2: I hope it's here and everywhere else. We just hope

1235
01:13:14,200 --> 01:13:17,800
Speaker 2: that it catches fire. You know, it's caught fire here

1236
01:13:17,840 --> 01:13:23,000
Speaker 2: with seven counties here around. See one down in Lexington, Kentucky,

1237
01:13:23,320 --> 01:13:26,400
Speaker 2: because he owns the car dealership that he closes down.

1238
01:13:26,960 --> 01:13:31,559
Speaker 2: And Bill Gates, who owns that dealership, home dealership in Richmond.

1239
01:13:31,600 --> 01:13:36,080
Speaker 2: I think Bill owns six dealerships. The dealer he was at,

1240
01:13:36,160 --> 01:13:39,800
Speaker 2: he was up here they were scouting us because he

1241
01:13:39,880 --> 01:13:41,559
Speaker 2: knew this was going on. I didn't know who he was.

1242
01:13:41,600 --> 01:13:43,880
Speaker 2: I tried to get him to go over and pick

1243
01:13:43,960 --> 01:13:46,719
Speaker 2: some paper up because he was standing outside. I didn't

1244
01:13:46,720 --> 01:13:48,320
Speaker 2: know he was the owner of the dealership. I'd never

1245
01:13:48,400 --> 01:13:52,160
Speaker 2: met him. Said he did. Him and his crew went

1246
01:13:52,200 --> 01:13:53,600
Speaker 2: over and picked all the paper up, throw in the

1247
01:13:53,600 --> 01:13:56,120
Speaker 2: trash can. And then the general manager come and said,

1248
01:13:56,160 --> 01:14:00,439
Speaker 2: I'm an introduce you to mister Gates. I said, I'm sorry.

1249
01:14:00,439 --> 01:14:03,280
Speaker 2: He goes, I'm no better than anybody else. He goes.

1250
01:14:03,360 --> 01:14:05,920
Speaker 2: I said, he goes, We're going to do this next year.

1251
01:14:05,960 --> 01:14:08,280
Speaker 2: Down in Kentucky. We just came up to We've been

1252
01:14:08,320 --> 01:14:10,000
Speaker 2: following He followed me all day. I thought he was

1253
01:14:10,040 --> 01:14:12,880
Speaker 2: a stalker, and know what I knew he was. He said,

1254
01:14:12,880 --> 01:14:15,479
Speaker 2: We've been following you all day taking notes because we

1255
01:14:15,520 --> 01:14:17,200
Speaker 2: want to know how to do this? Can you come

1256
01:14:17,240 --> 01:14:18,800
Speaker 2: down and teach us? So that we went down and

1257
01:14:18,800 --> 01:14:21,080
Speaker 2: taught him, but he.

1258
01:14:21,080 --> 01:14:25,120
Speaker 1: Said along those along those lines, ol, how do you

1259
01:14:25,200 --> 01:14:29,000
Speaker 1: raise the money? We have one hundred and fifty thousand

1260
01:14:29,040 --> 01:14:31,479
Speaker 1: dollars a year worth the gifts. Yeah, at five hundred

1261
01:14:31,479 --> 01:14:32,360
Speaker 1: and fifty bucks pop.

1262
01:14:32,520 --> 01:14:34,960
Speaker 2: We have a couple of fundraisers. We do play a

1263
01:14:34,960 --> 01:14:38,160
Speaker 2: little Texas hold them, which is great. So we'll poker

1264
01:14:38,200 --> 01:14:41,599
Speaker 2: tournament run in the back of a photography studio, which

1265
01:14:41,680 --> 01:14:44,240
Speaker 2: is great. Have a gentleman who, in honor of his

1266
01:14:44,600 --> 01:14:47,599
Speaker 2: brother who passed away, who was a provost at Ball State,

1267
01:14:48,360 --> 01:14:52,200
Speaker 2: Bob Morris. Rick Morris, his brother runs a golf tournament

1268
01:14:52,600 --> 01:14:56,439
Speaker 2: and that raises some bill. All of our money comes

1269
01:14:56,760 --> 01:15:02,160
Speaker 2: from sacrificial giving, and we ask our goal is we

1270
01:15:02,200 --> 01:15:05,680
Speaker 2: want four hundred families. What we ask are for adults

1271
01:15:06,080 --> 01:15:09,240
Speaker 2: to quit buying presents for each other, just like Chris

1272
01:15:09,280 --> 01:15:12,280
Speaker 2: and I did, and take the money that they would

1273
01:15:12,320 --> 01:15:15,040
Speaker 2: spend on each other and give it to me so

1274
01:15:15,120 --> 01:15:17,280
Speaker 2: I can go take care of one family. If I

1275
01:15:17,360 --> 01:15:21,120
Speaker 2: get four hundred families to give up the adult buying,

1276
01:15:21,200 --> 01:15:24,840
Speaker 2: buy for the kids, give up the adult buying, and

1277
01:15:25,320 --> 01:15:28,360
Speaker 2: give me the money, I have no funding problem at all.

1278
01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:33,559
Speaker 2: We actually have a moratorium on giving. No company or

1279
01:15:33,640 --> 01:15:39,000
Speaker 2: one individual is allowed to sponsor over five families a year.

1280
01:15:40,920 --> 01:15:41,719
Speaker 1: Why do you do that.

1281
01:15:42,600 --> 01:15:44,799
Speaker 2: The reason we do it is because there's other charities

1282
01:15:44,840 --> 01:15:48,920
Speaker 2: in the community that are that are going broke, and

1283
01:15:48,960 --> 01:15:51,679
Speaker 2: I want to spread the wealth. And I think there's

1284
01:15:51,720 --> 01:15:53,559
Speaker 2: so many other charities that do a lot of other

1285
01:15:53,600 --> 01:15:56,680
Speaker 2: great things, not just at Christmas, other time. If they

1286
01:15:56,720 --> 01:15:59,519
Speaker 2: give all the money I the story goes I had

1287
01:15:59,560 --> 01:16:02,280
Speaker 2: a hand me a twenty five thousand dollars check. Then

1288
01:16:02,320 --> 01:16:05,760
Speaker 2: I returned and I asked him to write me a

1289
01:16:05,880 --> 01:16:08,479
Speaker 2: check for twenty seven to fifty and to go to

1290
01:16:08,520 --> 01:16:11,880
Speaker 2: ten other charities and give them each twenty five hundred dollars.

1291
01:16:12,120 --> 01:16:16,000
Speaker 2: And he did that because they needed the money. I

1292
01:16:16,040 --> 01:16:18,519
Speaker 2: don't want it all if it all comes from one place.

1293
01:16:18,520 --> 01:16:21,360
Speaker 2: If I have one company give me fifty thousand dollars

1294
01:16:21,600 --> 01:16:23,320
Speaker 2: and they're not able to help me the next year

1295
01:16:23,320 --> 01:16:25,799
Speaker 2: because things don't go well, or they go out of business,

1296
01:16:26,000 --> 01:16:29,760
Speaker 2: or private equity buys them, or they just sell. I

1297
01:16:29,800 --> 01:16:32,960
Speaker 2: can't replace that, and I've already asked for that many families.

1298
01:16:33,160 --> 01:16:35,600
Speaker 2: I can't replace that fifty thousand. But if I have

1299
01:16:35,680 --> 01:16:39,200
Speaker 2: one family. We lost my mother in law this year,

1300
01:16:39,800 --> 01:16:44,839
Speaker 2: Well I could replace her by finding one more family

1301
01:16:44,880 --> 01:16:47,200
Speaker 2: to sponsor a family. But if she'd been giving me

1302
01:16:47,240 --> 01:16:49,720
Speaker 2: fifty thousand a year, I couldn't replaced it. And I'm

1303
01:16:49,760 --> 01:16:52,200
Speaker 2: in trouble. So I like to build. I like to

1304
01:16:52,240 --> 01:16:54,320
Speaker 2: build am I like to build things that have white

1305
01:16:54,360 --> 01:16:55,639
Speaker 2: bases that aren't very tall.

1306
01:16:56,160 --> 01:16:58,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, you went broad rather than deep all day long,

1307
01:16:59,080 --> 01:17:04,559
Speaker 1: and that's what we're and and you're also asking people

1308
01:17:04,720 --> 01:17:08,000
Speaker 1: to be philanthropic elsewhere, not to be a hog of

1309
01:17:08,040 --> 01:17:10,600
Speaker 1: all the money, which is also amazing.

1310
01:17:10,280 --> 01:17:12,360
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that's and we want so that we may

1311
01:17:12,400 --> 01:17:14,360
Speaker 2: be the only charity in the world that has a

1312
01:17:14,520 --> 01:17:17,479
Speaker 2: limit on what you can actually donate, and we just

1313
01:17:17,520 --> 01:17:20,439
Speaker 2: want to We want that gets more families involved. That

1314
01:17:20,479 --> 01:17:23,640
Speaker 2: which is why I see I have a volunteer problem,

1315
01:17:24,040 --> 01:17:27,599
Speaker 2: But it's not lack of I have so many people

1316
01:17:27,680 --> 01:17:30,160
Speaker 2: coming to me. We shut down, they shut down our

1317
01:17:30,200 --> 01:17:36,880
Speaker 2: website taking registrations for volunteers in August. As a matter

1318
01:17:36,920 --> 01:17:38,320
Speaker 2: of fact, we could open it up for a week

1319
01:17:38,360 --> 01:17:40,639
Speaker 2: and it would just be full. I got people screaming

1320
01:17:40,680 --> 01:17:42,599
Speaker 2: at me. I don't have a spot to put them.

1321
01:17:42,640 --> 01:17:45,360
Speaker 2: I say, just help me raise money. The money raising

1322
01:17:45,479 --> 01:17:49,240
Speaker 2: is the is the hardest of all because see, we

1323
01:17:49,280 --> 01:17:52,160
Speaker 2: don't start until October. I don't get in everybody else's

1324
01:17:52,240 --> 01:17:55,000
Speaker 2: way up when it comes October, though, you have to

1325
01:17:55,000 --> 01:17:57,080
Speaker 2: get out of my way. And when you know, when

1326
01:17:57,120 --> 01:18:01,040
Speaker 2: I start shoving, I shove pretty hard. But you got

1327
01:18:01,040 --> 01:18:03,160
Speaker 2: to come to me. Now. You gotta, you gotta, you

1328
01:18:03,200 --> 01:18:06,320
Speaker 2: gotta step up and play right now. I don't. But

1329
01:18:06,479 --> 01:18:08,400
Speaker 2: the rest of the time you worry about the other

1330
01:18:08,560 --> 01:18:12,360
Speaker 2: organizations that function somewhere else. When Secret Families comes around,

1331
01:18:12,560 --> 01:18:15,840
Speaker 2: I do ask for my turn. Mh.

1332
01:18:18,280 --> 01:18:19,439
Speaker 1: We'll be right back.

1333
01:18:23,680 --> 01:18:25,519
Speaker 2: H H.

1334
01:18:29,080 --> 01:18:33,320
Speaker 1: So why is this not scalable in every community in

1335
01:18:33,360 --> 01:18:34,479
Speaker 1: the United States? It is?

1336
01:18:35,120 --> 01:18:37,439
Speaker 2: It is, And I teach them all. I teach them.

1337
01:18:37,760 --> 01:18:38,200
Speaker 2: It's simple.

1338
01:18:38,200 --> 01:18:41,000
Speaker 1: How do people How do people find you to learn? Uh?

1339
01:18:41,040 --> 01:18:43,519
Speaker 2: They they're just gonna call me, call me or email me.

1340
01:18:44,400 --> 01:18:50,040
Speaker 2: It's Ahldron at Atlas collections dot net. They can go

1341
01:18:50,160 --> 01:18:54,839
Speaker 2: out to uh Secret Families or our secret Family's website

1342
01:18:55,160 --> 01:18:58,160
Speaker 2: is typing Secret Families dot com. You can pull that

1343
01:18:58,320 --> 01:19:00,439
Speaker 2: up and my phone numbers are there. You can call

1344
01:19:00,520 --> 01:19:03,000
Speaker 2: me and they can reach me at seven sixty five

1345
01:19:03,439 --> 01:19:07,400
Speaker 2: seven four four three six ' nine and we'll teach them.

1346
01:19:08,000 --> 01:19:11,320
Speaker 2: It's a simple system. Initially, they don't need a lot,

1347
01:19:11,400 --> 01:19:13,880
Speaker 2: they just need some the base of what to go do.

1348
01:19:14,240 --> 01:19:17,480
Speaker 2: But it is absolutely scalable. We do it by counties

1349
01:19:17,920 --> 01:19:21,760
Speaker 2: because that gives everybody a defined geographic to work in.

1350
01:19:22,240 --> 01:19:26,800
Speaker 2: I don't solicit money outside of my county. We think

1351
01:19:26,920 --> 01:19:29,880
Speaker 2: local should take care of local. Also, because I've got

1352
01:19:29,880 --> 01:19:32,040
Speaker 2: all these other secret families, I don't want to reach

1353
01:19:32,080 --> 01:19:34,360
Speaker 2: into those counties and I could. I've got clients from

1354
01:19:34,400 --> 01:19:37,479
Speaker 2: my business I could reach in. If those people come

1355
01:19:37,520 --> 01:19:39,439
Speaker 2: to me. If I and I have some of my clients,

1356
01:19:39,640 --> 01:19:41,559
Speaker 2: they say, well, I want to give to you, I

1357
01:19:41,600 --> 01:19:45,519
Speaker 2: go no, give to Blackford County or Grant County. They're

1358
01:19:45,560 --> 01:19:47,479
Speaker 2: in your county here. Let me connect you with the

1359
01:19:47,479 --> 01:19:50,000
Speaker 2: guy that runs that area and we just drive them

1360
01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:52,960
Speaker 2: to their months. He should take care of Monsett. And

1361
01:19:53,000 --> 01:19:55,719
Speaker 2: when we do that, if everybody did that in every community,

1362
01:19:56,640 --> 01:19:58,439
Speaker 2: that would be good That's what I was going to

1363
01:19:58,479 --> 01:20:01,920
Speaker 2: tell you. Bill, Don't do the secret. Don't do the

1364
01:20:01,960 --> 01:20:04,840
Speaker 2: secrets anymore. Take the eleven hundred dollars from the eleven

1365
01:20:05,120 --> 01:20:07,439
Speaker 2: go sponsor to families, and go do what I just

1366
01:20:07,479 --> 01:20:09,519
Speaker 2: told you to do. That's what you go do.

1367
01:20:10,040 --> 01:20:12,000
Speaker 1: I think I'm gonna have to challenge my family how

1368
01:20:12,120 --> 01:20:14,800
Speaker 1: much like Chris challenged you those many years ago.

1369
01:20:15,200 --> 01:20:18,479
Speaker 2: They love it. They will love it. And here's the thing,

1370
01:20:19,560 --> 01:20:22,880
Speaker 2: being who you are and the and the and and

1371
01:20:23,040 --> 01:20:25,599
Speaker 2: just I mean, if you lived in if you lived

1372
01:20:26,200 --> 01:20:28,280
Speaker 2: if you lived in Muncie, dude, we'd be we'd be

1373
01:20:28,360 --> 01:20:33,680
Speaker 2: dear friends. The personality, the personality is attractive as hell.

1374
01:20:34,560 --> 01:20:37,439
Speaker 2: I'm just telling you we would be. We would we'd

1375
01:20:37,479 --> 01:20:40,559
Speaker 2: be shooting at the range. We'd be shooting at the range,

1376
01:20:40,680 --> 01:20:43,320
Speaker 2: and probably a little golf being played. I would imagine

1377
01:20:43,880 --> 01:20:46,400
Speaker 2: it would be. It would be we'd add you into

1378
01:20:46,479 --> 01:20:48,240
Speaker 2: the We'd add you in the circle. It would be

1379
01:20:48,280 --> 01:20:51,320
Speaker 2: freaking awesome. But I got to tell you a quick secret.

1380
01:20:51,439 --> 01:20:52,040
Speaker 2: You'll love it.

1381
01:20:52,600 --> 01:20:57,680
Speaker 1: I have played in the state, regional, and national championships

1382
01:20:57,720 --> 01:21:03,599
Speaker 1: in ust A team US myself No what oh, I

1383
01:21:03,640 --> 01:21:06,880
Speaker 1: love it. And I am six foot and a half

1384
01:21:06,880 --> 01:21:10,400
Speaker 1: and about two sixty. Al, can you imagine the two

1385
01:21:10,520 --> 01:21:14,160
Speaker 1: of us playing together in adult doubles.

1386
01:21:14,400 --> 01:21:16,040
Speaker 2: I'm telling you we would scare you.

1387
01:21:16,080 --> 01:21:18,559
Speaker 1: It would be five hundred pounds a lot.

1388
01:21:18,920 --> 01:21:21,160
Speaker 2: That's a lot of beef on one side of the bat. Dude,

1389
01:21:21,439 --> 01:21:24,840
Speaker 2: Oh my god. And here's the thing. If we I

1390
01:21:24,880 --> 01:21:27,880
Speaker 2: guarantee you, if we can't beat them on the court,

1391
01:21:28,320 --> 01:21:30,000
Speaker 2: we can beat the crap out of them after the

1392
01:21:30,120 --> 01:21:35,479
Speaker 2: men they have no Oh my, And you know what

1393
01:21:35,760 --> 01:21:39,960
Speaker 2: the great thing would be walking out there. They'd be like, dude,

1394
01:21:40,160 --> 01:21:43,120
Speaker 2: we're gonna we're gonna run those two big boys to death.

1395
01:21:43,240 --> 01:21:45,480
Speaker 2: And then all of a sudden, when they get schooled,

1396
01:21:45,720 --> 01:21:47,799
Speaker 2: they'll be like going, what the hell happened?

1397
01:21:48,600 --> 01:21:51,000
Speaker 1: Well? And if we and if we played on clay,

1398
01:21:51,520 --> 01:21:54,080
Speaker 1: can you imagine what we would do to a court

1399
01:21:54,400 --> 01:21:58,040
Speaker 1: running around on it for two sucks? I guarantee you

1400
01:21:58,080 --> 01:21:59,120
Speaker 1: to resurface it.

1401
01:21:59,200 --> 01:22:04,720
Speaker 2: Oh, I guarantee you. You hear something deeping in the

1402
01:22:04,760 --> 01:22:08,040
Speaker 2: background that need the truck bringing the extra load in.

1403
01:22:09,680 --> 01:22:12,599
Speaker 2: He's backing it up. He's backing it up right now.

1404
01:22:12,760 --> 01:22:15,200
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I agree, Al. I think we get

1405
01:22:15,240 --> 01:22:20,639
Speaker 1: along this, my friend. I got to tell you something,

1406
01:22:21,040 --> 01:22:24,920
Speaker 1: you know, you have done exactly what we're begging people

1407
01:22:24,960 --> 01:22:27,280
Speaker 1: to listen to and challenging people to do, which is

1408
01:22:27,320 --> 01:22:31,559
Speaker 1: not only join an army of normal folk, but how

1409
01:22:31,600 --> 01:22:34,920
Speaker 1: you've created your own little muncy army of normal folk

1410
01:22:35,000 --> 01:22:38,400
Speaker 1: that one day a year get together twenty five one

1411
01:22:38,479 --> 01:22:44,680
Speaker 1: hundred people and make Christmas what it should be for

1412
01:22:45,400 --> 01:22:51,519
Speaker 1: verifiably deserving and needy families. And I got to ask

1413
01:22:53,160 --> 01:22:56,520
Speaker 1: families get on their feet. Do you have served families

1414
01:22:56,600 --> 01:23:00,439
Speaker 1: come back and then become volunteers in the organization for others?

1415
01:23:00,680 --> 01:23:02,519
Speaker 2: Yes, actually they're back.

1416
01:23:02,920 --> 01:23:05,120
Speaker 1: Is that not the greatest part of the whole story?

1417
01:23:05,720 --> 01:23:07,519
Speaker 2: And see, I don't know who they are because I

1418
01:23:07,520 --> 01:23:09,799
Speaker 2: don't see them. I don't deliver the presidents to them.

1419
01:23:10,080 --> 01:23:14,280
Speaker 2: I'm just the general. I'm directing traffic around, I'm pulling

1420
01:23:14,360 --> 01:23:16,400
Speaker 2: volunteers and putting them here and filling holes.

1421
01:23:16,400 --> 01:23:18,040
Speaker 1: And so what do they do? Come up and say,

1422
01:23:18,160 --> 01:23:20,000
Speaker 1: thank you for what you did three years ago. We're

1423
01:23:20,000 --> 01:23:20,760
Speaker 1: here to give back.

1424
01:23:20,920 --> 01:23:23,439
Speaker 2: Yeah, you served my family over the twenty years. You've

1425
01:23:23,479 --> 01:23:26,880
Speaker 2: served my family. Three years my husband was abusive to me.

1426
01:23:26,920 --> 01:23:29,160
Speaker 2: We lived in it, we were living in Christian ministries,

1427
01:23:29,200 --> 01:23:31,400
Speaker 2: we were living our One guy come up and said

1428
01:23:31,560 --> 01:23:34,679
Speaker 2: I was awful to my family. You served my family

1429
01:23:34,680 --> 01:23:36,800
Speaker 2: while I was living at the Munsie Mission because I

1430
01:23:36,840 --> 01:23:38,880
Speaker 2: was a drug addict and I didn't want my kids

1431
01:23:38,880 --> 01:23:39,960
Speaker 2: to see it. So I went to live at the

1432
01:23:40,000 --> 01:23:42,479
Speaker 2: mission until I got clean, and then I came back

1433
01:23:42,479 --> 01:23:46,080
Speaker 2: and helped and now here I am back, reunited with

1434
01:23:46,080 --> 01:23:48,920
Speaker 2: my wife and my family. But you saved my bacon

1435
01:23:48,960 --> 01:23:52,400
Speaker 2: while I was going, I was off doing this, just

1436
01:23:52,640 --> 01:23:55,040
Speaker 2: or kids coming and saying, you know, all of a sudden,

1437
01:23:55,080 --> 01:23:57,479
Speaker 2: it's been twenty years. So we served the kid as

1438
01:23:57,520 --> 01:24:00,240
Speaker 2: a ten year old. He come back, you know, as

1439
01:24:00,280 --> 01:24:05,479
Speaker 2: a twenty five year old, sponsored a family on his

1440
01:24:05,560 --> 01:24:09,120
Speaker 2: own with his wife. Introduced me and said, oh, these

1441
01:24:09,160 --> 01:24:12,800
Speaker 2: guys brought us Christmas one of every five years. We

1442
01:24:12,840 --> 01:24:15,000
Speaker 2: sponsor a family every year. Now I had no idea

1443
01:24:15,040 --> 01:24:15,559
Speaker 2: who he was.

1444
01:24:16,880 --> 01:24:17,640
Speaker 1: Unbelievable.

1445
01:24:17,800 --> 01:24:20,439
Speaker 2: So it make you feel, oh my god, Well you

1446
01:24:20,479 --> 01:24:23,320
Speaker 2: mean when I quit crying, then I walked outside when

1447
01:24:23,479 --> 01:24:26,320
Speaker 2: the guy at Coke walk around the side of the dealership,

1448
01:24:26,400 --> 01:24:28,360
Speaker 2: everybody thought it went around there and he used the bathroom,

1449
01:24:28,640 --> 01:24:30,439
Speaker 2: you know, to the bathrooms were full, and I'm like,

1450
01:24:30,680 --> 01:24:32,639
Speaker 2: you got to leave me alone. You got to give

1451
01:24:32,680 --> 01:24:35,240
Speaker 2: me big al needs two minutes here I got to

1452
01:24:35,280 --> 01:24:37,240
Speaker 2: get it together, and it's like an He's like, and

1453
01:24:37,240 --> 01:24:39,760
Speaker 2: the kid goes, I didn't mean to make you manage it.

1454
01:24:39,880 --> 01:24:42,479
Speaker 2: You didn't make me mad, you made me proud. Thanks

1455
01:24:42,520 --> 01:24:46,200
Speaker 2: so much. But my guysh, I just yeah, you just

1456
01:24:46,520 --> 01:24:50,240
Speaker 2: you hear those stories and you just but it doesn't

1457
01:24:50,280 --> 01:24:52,200
Speaker 2: usually doesn't catch up with us till the next day.

1458
01:24:52,240 --> 01:24:54,760
Speaker 2: Then we're at home, we're having dinner and we're telling

1459
01:24:54,760 --> 01:24:56,880
Speaker 2: the stories that Christmas. Like, she goes, did you see

1460
01:24:56,920 --> 01:24:59,000
Speaker 2: Bill that he been looking for you for an hour?

1461
01:24:59,120 --> 01:25:02,360
Speaker 2: Because I'm like a fart in the whirlwind, you know

1462
01:25:02,400 --> 01:25:04,280
Speaker 2: that day, run all over the place trying to get

1463
01:25:04,360 --> 01:25:06,080
Speaker 2: I always tell people you want to talk to me,

1464
01:25:06,120 --> 01:25:07,920
Speaker 2: you go to walk with me, because we're just moving

1465
01:25:08,160 --> 01:25:10,840
Speaker 2: from one point or the other. But yeah, Bill, that's

1466
01:25:10,880 --> 01:25:13,800
Speaker 2: what it's all about, and it really was. Here's the thing.

1467
01:25:14,040 --> 01:25:16,160
Speaker 2: The guy that we serve, the kid that we served,

1468
01:25:16,479 --> 01:25:19,400
Speaker 2: wasn't being taught by his parents. He got taught by

1469
01:25:19,400 --> 01:25:23,960
Speaker 2: secret families how to give. Now we've ended the cycle.

1470
01:25:24,160 --> 01:25:25,439
Speaker 2: All I'm trying to do. All we want to do

1471
01:25:25,479 --> 01:25:30,200
Speaker 2: is break the cycle, fill the hole, be the be

1472
01:25:30,280 --> 01:25:33,280
Speaker 2: the one year get out of jail free card, and

1473
01:25:33,320 --> 01:25:36,720
Speaker 2: then have them move on. My goal is that we

1474
01:25:36,800 --> 01:25:41,240
Speaker 2: have no families to serve. I hope. I'm trying to

1475
01:25:41,280 --> 01:25:43,040
Speaker 2: work my way out of job. I don't want to

1476
01:25:43,040 --> 01:25:45,800
Speaker 2: do it. I want to be out, but we know

1477
01:25:45,960 --> 01:25:47,280
Speaker 2: right now that's probably not going to happen.

1478
01:25:47,360 --> 01:25:52,799
Speaker 1: So big Al president and co founder with his wife

1479
01:25:52,920 --> 01:25:58,400
Speaker 1: Chris of Secret Families, well co founder, I would say,

1480
01:25:59,000 --> 01:26:01,439
Speaker 1: I think Chris has to get the credit. It was

1481
01:26:01,520 --> 01:26:04,479
Speaker 1: wouldn't have started with her out her idea first, absolutely

1482
01:26:04,520 --> 01:26:10,360
Speaker 1: correct and secret families changing lives and making Christmas better

1483
01:26:10,439 --> 01:26:15,080
Speaker 1: for deserving and needing families in Northern Indiana, and an

1484
01:26:16,360 --> 01:26:20,120
Speaker 1: operation that is scalable can be done in any community.

1485
01:26:20,600 --> 01:26:23,160
Speaker 1: And all you got to do is contact big Al.

1486
01:26:23,520 --> 01:26:26,880
Speaker 1: Big Al, you're a phenomenal guy. I thank you for

1487
01:26:26,960 --> 01:26:30,559
Speaker 1: joining me, and from the depth of my heart and

1488
01:26:30,640 --> 01:26:35,120
Speaker 1: from all of those in Northern Indiana, Merry Christmas.

1489
01:26:34,720 --> 01:26:37,479
Speaker 2: You too, my friends, Honored to know you, honored, honored

1490
01:26:37,479 --> 01:26:39,360
Speaker 2: to know you too. You're the best. I love you,

1491
01:26:39,600 --> 01:26:42,960
Speaker 2: Thank you, Thanks for joining us anytime.

1492
01:26:47,920 --> 01:26:51,479
Speaker 1: And thank you for joining us this week. If big

1493
01:26:51,520 --> 01:26:54,519
Speaker 1: Al Holdron or another guest has inspired you in general

1494
01:26:54,640 --> 01:26:57,080
Speaker 1: or better yet, to take action by Doe dainty to

1495
01:26:57,200 --> 01:27:03,360
Speaker 1: secret families at Secret Family. By providing a secret Christmas

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Speaker 1: to a family in your community, or starting a secret

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01:27:06,640 --> 01:27:09,320
Speaker 1: Families in your community, please let me know. I'd love

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01:27:09,400 --> 01:27:12,519
Speaker 1: to hear about it. You can write me anytime at

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Speaker 1: Bill at normalfolks dot us, and guys, I will respond.

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01:27:17,760 --> 01:27:20,400
Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this episode, share it with friends and

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01:27:20,479 --> 01:27:23,800
Speaker 1: on social, subscribe to the podcast, rate and review it.

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01:27:24,200 --> 01:27:28,120
Speaker 1: Become a Premium member at normalfolks dot us. All these

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01:27:28,120 --> 01:27:32,400
Speaker 1: things that will help us grow an army of normal folks.

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Speaker 1: I'm Bill Courtney. Merry Christmas, everybody. I'll see you next week.