Boys & Girls Club says thank you because it's the right thing to do

During this season of thanks, the Nevada Appeal hosted the first in what will be a series of annual "Thank you" receptions directed to supporters of the Boys & Girls Club. The Nevada Appeal will host each ensuing year's reception as long as I'm here. Depend on it.

It is important to say "Thank you." I would dare say that it is far more important to say "Thank you" in public, especially to large financial supporters. I also offer the challenge that it is equally important to say "Thank you" for what you already have and where it has taken you, than it is to just seek more. Sometimes people, businesses and organizations seek more and more and more, and never say "Thank you."

My intention is not to sell you on the Boys & Girls Club in this column. No, my intention is to tell you why the Nevada Appeal finds it important to host the new annual "Thank you" reception on behalf of the Boys & Girls Club. The intention was simple: to say "Thank you." And to continue to make it a point to say "Thank you." About 130 people attended the reception on Nov. 15 here at the Appeal. The reception was also opened to the public.

Seven hundred supporters were sent personal invitations by me on behalf of the club. So, having 130 people show up doesn't really pose a favorable comparison to the Burning Man celebration, but the Boys & Girls Club needed to start someplace in my view.

That is why the Appeal offered to stage the reception and make it an annual event. I have been a board member of the club for more than a year. I also have a certain fondness and affection for the board members and the club itself. And I love kids.

Why did 130 people show up, and not 200, 300, or 500? The reasons could be many. Pick 'em. Could it be that there were other things going on? That's always the case in Carson City. Maybe people were just too busy? Could be.

Some people may have been unclear as to the intent of the reception. Maybe some people looked at it as a camouflaged fundraiser. Maybe they thought we'd all be passing the basket while saying "Thank you" with forked-tongue. Or maybe, just maybe, the club over the past several years just hasn't made it a point to frequently and publicly thank the people who made its existence possible to begin with, which could have left some financial supporters slightly suspicious of the intention for the event.

When it comes to thanking people for voluntary annual donations - and sizable ones at that - even frequently is often not enough. And enough is seldom enough.

Anyway, next year will be an even bigger event. I really believe that. People who were present at this year's reception were complimentary. And like I mentioned before, it was a first step. And a necessary one.

Maybe next year we'll have a holiday theme. Maybe we'll even ask kids from the club to mingle with the crowd and informally tell their own stories. Maybe the public will realize that we weren't hiding behind bushes ready to force their purses and wallets from them, and that it was truly just a sincere "Thank you" from the board members of the Boys & Girls Club.

Does the Boys & Girls Club need money? Ahh, yeah ... Do we need to say "Thank you" more often? Hell yeah! You cannot begin to count your next dollar once you've lost one that you had.

n John DiMambro is publisher of the Nevada Appeal. Write to him at jdimambro@nevadaappeal.com.