Well that used to mean... "on TV", in my business. But since becoming Chair of the Hamilton Ontario 2011 United Way Campaign, kicking off has taken on a much more literal meaning! (see photo).
Let's just say I made contact with the football at the September 16th, Hamilton Tiger Cat game against the Edmonton Eskimos. My Burlington Co-Chair Rick Bashista actually nailed a field goal, much to the dismay of all. (If only the Ticats performed that well that night...)
The next day I helped serve up an Oktoberfest BBQ at Denninger's downtown Hamilton. A $5.00 ticket bought you a wonderful lunch with all proceeds going to the United Way.
How touching when two young men who probably lived in the inner city bought two meal tickets but after taking their money they refused the tickets asking me to give them away to "someone who needed them." "Someone helped me once", one of them remarked as they walked away.
When a severely disabled man in a wheelchair approached dour ticket booth, my first impulse was to offer him a free meal until I realized , as he gestured towards a leather wallet chained to his wheelchair, that he wanted to buy his meal like everyone else and support the wonderful United Way funded agencies and programs that have likely helped him along the way.
Our United Way team has got the ball and we are rushing toward a $6,999,999.00 goal this year to help the one in 3 of us who will reach out to a United Way agency at some point in our life journeys.
Watch in the media for personal stories of community leaders, "Change Started With Me" and visit unitedway.ca to give where you live; in Burlington, Greater Hamilton, uwaybh.ca or text unitedway to 45678. Change starts here!
Now as for kicking off another season in that TV business, we are in negotiations to launch a new production season of "Always Good News", now airing at 6 week nights on CTS TV (http://www.alwaysgoodnews.ca/) and who knows what else may pop up on your TV or computer screen....stay tuned!!!