1998 Toys for Tots Committee Report



1998 was the best year so far for Toys for Tots and the Triangle Woodworkers. We had two major objectives at the beginning of the 1998 program. One was to make at least 2,000 high quality toys and the second was to encourage as many members as possible participate in the program.


We ended the year with 3,191 toys with 82 TWA members at various workshops. Many individuals also worked more than one workshop. Numerous individuals also worked alone on in small self organized groups to turn out, in some cases, prodigious quantities.


In addition to our members we also got a lot of support from the community. Bob Morris, Cary Home Depot ,store manager, was instrumental in rallying the support of Home Depot. Home Depot not only sponsored the Home Depot Workshop but also supplied materials and tools in support of all other workshops and individual activities. Fred Haskin, a member as well as a Home Depot employee, was instrumental in the success of the Home Depot Workshop.


Major Wood, Sergeant Nurse, and numerous other Marine Corps members gave valuable support during the year. Many will remember Sergeant Nurse on the band saw in full uniform at the Home Depot Workshop. Major Musgrove and Jules Warren of the Salvation Army also were visible participants. We also enlisted the support of other organizations. The Cary Presbyterian Church, The First Methodist Church, The Ephesus Baptist Church, The Boy Scouts, The Cub Scouts, Newspapers, and TV Stations to name a few.


Our most productive workshops turned out to be the final drive sponsored by Diane Caudill in her mother’s and father’s (Sue Eckard and her late farther Bill Eckard} workshop. All of us that knew Bill know how much this would have meant to him. The effort was supported by more than a dozen TWA members and other members of the community. At these last workshops we made racers up to the final assembly. The final assembly was completed by the first through fifth grades of the Raleigh School or Children on Edwards Mill Road, organized by Bob Wiethe, an active TWA member. At the end of the combined effort we had 1,070 more toys.


Although we did not have a formal committee we did have a very active informal committee. Working behind the scene Dan Cameron, Dave Mackie, Pete Hodges, and I were in motion to make sure everyone and workshops had what they needed and also knew where to go to have fun making toys.


Dan Cameron also functioned as a one man publicity committee making possible about 20 TV showings and newspaper articles. This publicity help raise the public interest in the Toys for Tots program and along the way gave very positive visibility of our club. He has also received $850 so far toward support for the 1999 Toys for Tots program.


I can not begin to cover all the significant efforts put forth in this short report. Please let these few examples give testimony to a very successful effort. For me and many of us the real reward and recognition came Christmas morning when we thought of those 3,191 children who were made a little happier.


Submitted by Fred Ford


Here is a break down of the 3,191 toys. These toys took as little as 20 minutes in production mode up to 5 hours for the complex individual contributions. I estimate 207 eight hour days were spent at the bench making these toys.


NAME # OF TOYS TYPE OF TOY
Vocational Ind. Club (Cary High) 469 Race Car
Bill Eckard’s Workshop 23 Puzzle
Hal Liberty 11 Airplane
Tom Hurz 4 Trucks bowling set
Rufus Cotton 57 Race Cars

Jim Morrison 25 Fuel Trucks
Cary Presbyterian (Fred Haskin) 50 Race Cars
Bob Gabor and friends 50 Trucks
Bob Gabor and friends 42 Doll Beds

Pete Hodges 526 Helicopters, Tractors, Rabbits, Race Cars and Milk Cars
Charles Davis 10 Trucks
Charles Davis 10 Mini-vans
Dave Mackie and team 38 Bulldozers

Dave Hattori 6 Acrobatic Clowns

Jane Main 4 Bags ABC Blocks

Home Depot Workshop 470 Race Cars

Dick Hall 200 Race Cars etc.

Diana’s Workshop #1 126 Race Cars

Diana’s Workshop #2 and 3 1,070 Race Cars
Total 3,191