Toys for Tots
2001 Final Report (year 16)
There were sixty-seven active TWA members
participating in this year’s Toys for Tots program, making 1,753 toys. I hope all of you will take a moment on
Christmas morning to think of all the children that will be receiving the
fruits of our labor. I always do and it
is a major part of what keeps me motivated.
The other thing that keeps me going is the opportunity to make saw dust
with some good friends of whom I grow fonder with each year.
I would like to encourage the members who
could not participate this year to make a serious effort to participate next
year. Even if you only make one toy,
you will know you have helped one child in need to have a better Christmas.
The workshop participants have really
honed their skills. Each year we have
seen improvements in process and products.
Many of the toys this year were awesome.
We had seven club-sponsored
workshops. Bob Gabor sponsored two and
made doll cradles. Diane Caudill and
Sue Eckard sponsored two and made bears, Pinocchios, and rocking horses. Hal Liberty sponsored two workshops and
made airplanes. Hal said he keeps
improving his process and design. I
will say that this year’s were excellent, and the addition of an American flag
on each was moving.
Our seventh workshop was our annual Cary
Home Depot workshop. This was our
seventh year of having a workshop at the Cary Home Depot.
I would like to thank Pete Hodges for
working all day with me, getting toys ready for the workshop. As usual, we made toys partially finished
for every workstation, allowing a full start at 9:00 AM. At the end of the day thirty TWA members and
some assisting assemblers from the public, mostly children, had made five
hundred twenty five Volkswagens.
Dave Mackie, along with Jane Main and
Charlie Main, took the partially completed toys and finished the job at Dave’s
workshop. Taylor Hattori, Dave
Hattori’s daughter, asked to help and completed and assembled an additional
forty at home.
We also collected many more toys at our
annual meeting. Dick Hall brought in a
whopping three hundred sixty cars! GO
Dick! Charles Davis delivered his, now
famous, cedar trucks and cars. Dick
Courtney came in with a box full of pick up trucks. Walt Novinger and Rufus Cotton also made individual contributions
that will make any child happy.
The annual meeting was a huge
success. We had time for socializing, a
guest speaker, and a lot of show and tell.
There were one hundred one people in attendance, a record as far as I
know.
Thank you for all your help I look
forward to actively participating next year under the leadership of Rob
Zaccardi, the year 2002 chairman of the TWA Toys for Tots Committee.
Submitted
by Fred Ford
Chairman
of the TWA Toys for Tots Program