In the 45-years of being in the broadcast business (aka, media) there are some stories that just come together and I’d like to share this one with you all. mv
Sometime during the evening of Wednesday, December 22, 2021, the KLIN News Department got a web submitted news tip from our website. Quite honestly, these submissions are often met with great skepticism and those of us in the news and programming department are very cautious in proceeding. However, this one caught my attention as it was complete with name, phone and e-mail and was somewhat compelling.
After some thought I e-mailed the person and asked him to call me in the newsroom the next morning. I wanted to talk with him to try and get a better understanding (and quite honestly a better gut feeling) of his note to us. It took less than 2-minutes and I asked if I could ask him a few questions and use a comment or two in our newscasts. He readily agreed and I used the first story in our 7am newscast, 12/23/21.
The crux of the story is this; Jacob Hamik sent a note in about his 9-year old daughter, Harper, who wanted to invite people to a Christmas Caroling event in an East Lincoln park Thursday afternoon. Jacob said they had sent out about 70 e-mails to friends and family but was hopeful that if KLIN got the word out, it might bring a few more people out.
Tom Stanton and I aired the stories during the day and Kaleb Henry, Johnny Cadillac, Doug Fitzgerald and I also talked about it some during LNK Today with Jack and Friends.
Jacob e-mailed me later Thursday and said that Harper and her friends heard us taking about the plan on the radio and were so excited. And I gathered they were hopeful a few more would join them in bringing Christmas music to the neighborhood. In a follow-up e-mail, I asked Jacob to snap a picture and let me know how things went.
Below is his e-mail to me Christmas Eve…it tells the story of how a 9-year old’s idea turned out. Jacob also furnished a couple of pictures.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas from KLIN and the Broadcast House family of stations. And thank-you Harper and Jacob for making Christmas a little happier this year and sharing your story.
*****
Hi Mark, the Christmas caroling went really well. It was just like you described as a grassroots effort.
Here are some highlights:
- We sang the song called “I’ll be home for Christmas”and then recognize Wes Newton, who is a helicopter pilot for the national guard, whom just came home for the holidays as a surprise to his family on a short leave. He is currently deployed at the southern border.
- There were people there that used to live in the neighborhood who came back because they heard about the caroling on KLIN radio.
- We caroled at a home in which I some of the people there said in the old days they would walk to that home and an old man would answer the door and tear up while they sand Christmas carols years ago. However when we got there the daughter of that man who has since passed away answered the door and she teared up while we sing Christmas carols to her.
- There were many kids in attendance and some of the neighborhood people showed up in golf carts decorated and Christmas lights and we handed out glow sticks to all the kids.
4. The singing was imperfect and the sheet music I print out was too small of print but somehow this made it a more memorable and a magical time as we all improvised and had to get close the the screen that was set up and came together for the moment of hope that it was.
- The songs such as silent night and holy night really carried the message of the season and made your heart warm.
- Harper had a blast and lead the beginning of some of the songs on a microphone connected to a speaker and she would have some of the little kids start some as well.
The evening was Just so pure and true to the season. It’s hard to describe the authentic happiness that was there with all the families bundled together singing softy in the night.
Photo Courtesy Jacob Hamik
Photo Courtesy Jacob Hamik