|
| Mid-City Supply’s annual hog roast benefitted Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army. Photo courtesy of Mid-City Supply. |
Elkart, Ind.-based Mid-City Supply’s annual Holiday Hog Roast at each of its branches collected toys for the Toys for Tots organization and personal-care items (shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc.) for the Salvation Army. Customers and vendors also were treated to lunch.
Mid-City has been hosting the roasts for almost 20 years and has been coordinating a donation to a local charity at the event for 15 years.
“The first year it was the middle of winter and we pitched a tent outside in the parking lot and it was surprisingly a big hit,” Mid-City President Jeff New told Supply House Times. “We only did it in our South Bend (Ind.) branch, but when customers started asking why they didn’t get one, we started doing it at all the branches.”
At the roast, vendors and manufacturers reps set up tabletops to share information with customers. “It gives them an opportunity to show off their products and it gives the customers, owners and tradesmen a chance to talk to experts,” New said.
To encourage networking, when a customer talks to a vendor they are given a raffle ticket and the chance to win the grand prize of the night. Raffle prizes this past year included a boom box, jackets and tool boxes. The grand prize was a flat-screen TV.
This past year, Mid-City collected 18 boxes of toys and 12 baskets of personal-care items to be donated along with more than $1,200 to be split between Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army.
“You never know how truly generous people are,” said Mid-City Marketing Manager Dan New, Jeff’s son. “When they come in with a $100 donation and some toys, it’s really heartwarming.”
