Easter Seals Telethon Cracks $1 Million Mark for the First Time

Among the best and most vitally important facilities that you can find in the area is the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Evansville. It's been helping folks in the region for more than 65 years. And one of the great longstanding traditions in the tri-state has been the Easter Seals Telethon.

I remember watching it as a kid. And, now, in its 35th year on the air, the Easter Seals Telethon has accomplished something for the first ever--surpassing $1 million in donations. This is an outstanding achievement for everyone involved--Easter Seals Southwestern Indiana, WEHT Local, and you guys.

I say this every year during the St. Jude Radiothon. We can get the information and the stories to you all day long, but until you make the donations, we have nothing. So, what we have here is yet another amazing testament to the compassion that exists in this tri-state area.

I feel very privileged, every year, to be able to take part in answering phones during the telethon and speaking with some of the best people on this planet. And, of course, that means I get to see, firsthand, all the effort that goes into making this telethon such a great success, year in and year out.

And meeting the many children and adults who owe their astonishing progress to the work of the Easter Seals Rehab Center is just icing on the cake. This year's goal was $985,000. Thanks to you, Easter Seals and WEHT were able to report, in their final tally, $1,023,510 raised during the 6-hour broadcast Sunday afternoon. Amazing! Needless to say, this amount will travel long distances toward helping an organization that serves more than 5,000 people with disabilities in 30 counties in Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Wow!

Normally, I'd make an attempt to close with something clever...but I think I'll just stare at that number.