TWA Toys for Tots Year End Report

2012

Year Twenty-Seven

TWA Year Thirty

The evening was given a spectacular start with Diane Philyaw reminding us of what has happened to TWA over the last 30 years.  Diane asked the membership questions about the history of TWA that we had all but forgotten.  It was reassuring to find members that sill remember our past.

Another highlight of the evening was the presentation of toys from two unannounced workshops.  Don Frankfather and Alex Knittel presented toys that they had made in their own private workshops.  Their presentation added real interest to the evening.  I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE MORE MEMBERS TO PARTICIPATE BY HOSTING THEIR OWN PERSONAL WORKSHOPS.  EVERY SINGLE TOY MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO A NEEDY CHILD.

TWA’s first venture into making toys for the Toys for Tots program came in 1986, four years after the club was conceived.  The program was the brain child of the late Dan Cameron.  He is survived by his wife Estelle who often comes to our December Toys for Tots meeting.

During the twenty-seven years since we started the TWA Toys for Tots program our effort has been on handmade toys.  We have now contributed 88,832 toys to the Toys for Tots program in our twenty-seven years of making a lot of sawdust.

This year we turned over 3,462 toys to the Marines at our celebration meeting.  Roy Underhill was kind enough to entertain us for the second time in 2012.  The food was excellent and the turnout was great.  Paul Rolf and his staff did an excellent job at making enough space available for us to show our toys and also to be seated.

I want to give a special thanks to all of you that furnished refreshments.  They were  tables set for a king.  Signed up to supply food were Pete Bucki, Mike Payst, Joyce Campbell, Hal Brown, Mike Weinberger, Sue Ford, Rolf Anderson, Steve Steinbeck and Diane Philyaw.  I am sure some of the men signing up got some help from wives and I also know some people brought things although not signed up.  Thank you all.

The sixty-two men and women who gave of their time and talent were each presented a commemorative coin by Gunnery Sergeant David Swope.  The table below lists their accomplishments, but the true story was found in the homes of the little children getting their toys Christmas morning that had been made with love.

FRED FORD
Chairman TWA Toys for Tots Committee