 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The 1996 Beacon Santa Telethon
 The Stow (Mass.) Minuteman Co., 1774, performs for the cameras |
Months of preparation were completed. All the acts were scheduled... |
| Supposedly there was nothing else to worry about. The crews were ready to go... |
 Rob Thorp was one of the many camera people |
 Two Telethon hosts, Lauren Palazzolo, Lynne Gilfeather, get auctioning assitance from Mike Dolan (foreground). |
And the 1996 Telethon was set to begin. |
But then there was the call.
 Carson Cummings, Kelly Richardson, & Caroline DeRobert handle the bidding on the phones |
A Cablevision Technician phoned Mags to say that he would get the cable lines re-strung as fast as he could. Mags yelled, "What!!?," which he quickly followed by asking why the lines would be taken down in the first place? The answer was the moving of a house by a local contractor, right in the middle of the Telethon. Phone and cable wires would have to be unstrung as the house travelled throughout town, and that meant WAVM's cable signal would be out for eight hours. Months of preparation went down the drain, and quite a few hours of worries were just settling in. |
| By Friday December 13, the Telethon was ready to begin once again. All day long, Lauren Palazzolo, Garrett Wisuri, Kevin Wells, Lynne Gilfeather, and Eric Pronko--the five telethon hosts--polished their opening act, while the technical crews attended to last-minute details. By late afternoon, all but a skeleton crew went home to get some rest. For a couple more hours, the studio was quiet. Then, around 7 p.m., a crowd started wandering in; the studio was coming alive for the 40-hour event. By quarter to eight, WAVM was hopping, and as scheduled, the 1996 Beacon Santa Telethon began at 8 p.m. |  Popular Telethon Host, Eric Pronko, fixes himself a drink |
That Friday evening was reserved mainly for the talent to perform, but some auctioning was required. The community had been so generous and there were so many items that extra-auctioning time was required to show everything. And there were a lot of great items.
| It was Mr. and Mrs. Paul Boothroyd who received the all-expenses paid trip to Cancun, Mexico, as a gift from one of their children, and of course they went. However, the moment they returned, the Boothroyds claimed, "The sunbathing on the beautiful beaches was only okay. The 80+ degree Mexican waters were too cold, and the Mariachi bands just too good to really enjoy. In short, they recommended no one bid on that auction item if it becomes available again in the 1997 Telethon but didn't keep them from entering a perfunctory bid if that item is indeed offered. |
Just to name a few: All-Ways On-the-Go Travel had donated an all expenses paid 8-day trip to Cancun. The Maynard Historical Society gave away three Town of Maynard collector's ornaments. Former WAVM member Nicole Chiasson, who worked for Jim Henson productions in California, got the company to donate a Kermit the Frog tie and a Muppets' Book autographed by Henson. And importantly, WAVM had Tickle Me Elmos.
Tickle Me Elmo was the craze of the season, and shoppers had to step lively or get trampled if they went anywhere near the toy's store displays. There was a shortage of the dolls, and everyone scrambling to find a store, for at least an hour or so, which would have them. Wednesday prior to the Telethon, a rumor was circulated that Toys-R-Us in Natick was getting a shipment of Elmos. So the next morning Madeleine Wisuri, Ellen Gilfeather, and Todd Boothroyd got there around 8 a.m. to see if they could snatch a doll. Each did and donated their prize to the Telethon. By the end of the weekend with a lot of people sneaking pokes at their bellies, the Elmos auctioned for about $250 apiece.
| Two stalwarts of the '96 Telethon were Floor Managers, Brian "Nellie" Nelson and Ross Ignachuck. As Floor Managers for Studio A & B, they were responsible for having all of the crew, talent and auction items in place in time for each live segment. Furthermore they had to make sure everything operated smoothly such as talent getting cues, cameras being in the right place at the right time, etc. Other complications that these guys faced were incorrect information being aired as well as microphones and lights going dead--enough to drive an adult insane. Nellie and Ross stayed with the program. In the end, praise was heaped on WAVM for how beautiful and smooth the Telethon looked. Hundreds of people had done their part to make it so, but none more so than these two students. |
By Saturday morning, the Telethon total had already reached $6,000 when WAVM travelled to Memorial Park, which is in downtown Maynard. Each of the past couple years, WAVM has tried to bring a Cablevision production van to this location to get the Telethon in the community's eye, but the weather hasn't always been accomodating. There's been rain on several occasions, which is even worse than snow. However, all went well on Saturday December 14. . The Telethon hosts were the only ones to talk up a own storm. Talent such as the St. Bridget's Choir, although cold, sang their hearts out. Balloons were handed out to children by cartoon characters, and the auctioning numbers were beginning to climb.
 Kate Farrell takes a deserved rest on the Telethon's Saturday evening. | By Saturday afternoon, the total had doubled to $12,000, and by the evening that amount had climbed another several thousand to $18,000. A lot of work had been done, and it was time for a good night's rest before the final morning off auctioning. |
However, many of the students stayed awake long enough to listen to Pipe, a student band playing in Studio B. Pipe consisted of P.J. Curran on vocals, Zak Smith on lead guitar, and Matt Pomfret on drums; and the band had some guest performers who were also students. A live audience cheered them on--at least those who could fit in the studio. Everyone else watched on a TV set located in the high school's hall. Live rock bands usually don't go over well, but Pipe got the students hopping.
The next morning started slow and sleepy; but soon there was non-stop auctioning. Bids came in fast, and the Telethon total soon passed $22,000, and then $23,000 and then even higher. WAVM was on course to raise a record amount.
At noontime on December 13, 1996, the total read $30,033. WAVM had a reason to be proud; They had set a new record for themselves, and a whole lot of money had been raised to help a whole lot of needy families.
| "Over the years, your telethon has emerged as the single biggest contributor to the Beacon Santa fund. This year you raised $30,000 for Beacon Santa, more than half of the total $55,000 that was distributed. Because of the major impact the telethon has on our ability to fund the charity, you have effectively joined a partnership with the Beacon newspapers and the Beacon Santa fund..."
Taken from a 1997 Awards Banquet Speech made by June Morgan, Editor of the Maynard Beacon |
 June Morgan, Maynard Beacon Editor |
Return to The Beacon Santa