Second Harvest Column: Events Went Quite Well

By Lois Rockhill

If you were there, you know that the Second Harvest Food Bank events of Sept. 17 turned out quite well. Our operations director Joe Fox and his staff are still receiving kudos for having the facilities looking so good. The warehouse is always clean and orderly but there was a "spit and shine" to it last week that was remarkable! 

Tiffany Jones and her assistants pulled the events together with all the unseen but necessary support. Susan Land, who is our very new development associate, saw to it that all the details were covered.

Erin Rockhill heard good comments, too, on the agency seminars that began the afternoon. Volunteers and staff from all of the programs we serve were invited to participate in this annual event. This year the format was set as a backdrop to the dedication of the warehouse and the 25th anniversary celebration giving our partnering agencies the opportunity to take part in all.

We figured we had 100 people attend the outdoor ribbon-cutting ceremony. Pay Less Super Market managers Mike Chase and Joyce Turner presented a beautiful basket of flowers before the ceremony. Board Chair Brad Condon welcomed everyone and introduced the participants. Sen. Lugar sent a letter of congratulations read by his Indiana state director, Lesley Reser. Indiana state Sen. Sue Errington and state Rep. Terri Austin commented on the occasion. They were followed by Anderson’s chairman of the Board of Public Works, Greg Graham. Muncie Mayor Sharon McShurley read a city proclamation naming Sept. 17 Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana day. Founding board member John Cooper and Rich Spisak program director with Ball Brothers Foundation were introduced and joined the others in a group ribbon cutting while yours truly did the countdown to synchronize those eight scissor snips.

The crowd moved indoors for tours with many taking time to participate in the volunteer activity. Benefactors and representatives of agencies benefiting from our services stood shoulder to shoulder with other friends of Second Harvest packing individual Kool-Aid packets into plastic bowls. Some of these volunteers were very task-oriented, and it was hard to pull them away for dinner.

Those taking the tours were ushered into the mammoth freezer and refrigerator. They walked down the aisles of the dry storage area and took a look at the huge inventory on hand. They were shown into the area of the building designated for renovations for offices where Associate Director Tim Kean had measured off and taped the outline of each room on the floor repeating the blueprint visual provided by architect Mike Ellis.

By the time the dinner bell rang, we had close to 200 people at the tables set up in the warehouse. Troy Brown from Wal-Mart’s corporate office provided burgundy mums for the occasion — matching the napkins that Tim Tuhey from Cintas provided along with white table cloths. Shiny galvanized buckets donated by Lowes centered the tables holding iced drinks for the diners.

Appetizers of peach cheese balls, corn chowder shooters and my favorite — a pasta salad made with spaghetti had already been served. Tim Kean walked the diners through the dinner menu and how to approach the food stations. A harpist made beautiful music while we all enjoyed a meal created and prepared by area chefs at the Ball State laboratory kitchen.

Our program included a history of Second Harvest Food Bank and a challenge by Steve Anderson to keep the organization moving forward. Brad Condon introduced the public portion of the campaign, Second Harvest on the Move, A Region Responds to Ending Hunger. Brad announced that the campaign team had already raised $2.7 million of the $4 million goal that includes $2.5 million for capital, $1 million for endowment and $500,000 for programs.

As we invited our guests to help move us into the future, we were able to offer the exciting incentive of the Kresge Challenge Grant. The Kresge Foundation pledged a $400,000 challenge grant payable after $800,000 more is raised! Every dollar given to capital and program will increase in value to $1.50. Every $10,000 gift will multiply to $15,000! It was a good way to end the evening and to focus our sights on the work ahead of ending hunger and feeding hope for our struggling neighbors in East Central Indiana.

Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@curehunger.org.