Business reply envelopes and cards,
previously prepared by several career personnel await the final
distribution and inclusion in the mail out envelopes.
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Volunteer (l-r) Jo Mason, Aimee
Combs and Bobby Putnam form an assembly line putting the
components of the mail out together readying them to be labeled
and mailed.
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Volunteer Andy Jones
and Doc Carroll (rt), along with family and friends working with
a supply of mail out components assembling them for labeling and
mailing.
|
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA – Tuesday
November 20th marked the date of an annual gathering of volunteers, with their
families and friends. This gathering has been referred to as the ‘calendar
stuffing’ meeting for many years and as the name suggests…they stuff calendars
into envelopes for a mass mailing.
Beginning in the mid 1970s, the
volunteers on Saint Simons Island have been mailing calendars, at no cost, to
all of the property owners on Saint Simons and Sea Island. In return all that
is hoped for is the consideration of a postage paid donation to the
organization.
This event is the culmination of
months of hard work and dedicated effort on the part of many different people
and agencies. With calendars being ordered in August, along with the business
reply cards and return envelopes, the bulk mailing envelopes and the mailing
labels all in hand everyone is ready for a busy night.
With much of the work already
completed, the only task left to do is to assemble and label the packages,
making them ready for delivery. In the beginning, Volunteer Jo Mason remembers
having to address all of the calendars by hand. “Things have come a long way
since then,” she said. While there is still a lot of manual work involved it
can now be finished in a single evening.
This years mailing will include 7000
calendars going to the property owners. While the department provides much of
the necessary gear and equipment needed the volunteers use the contributions to
purchase additional gear and other necessary equipment needed to make
firefighting safer. In addition to the basic equipment the volunteers also
provide additional, and often specialized, firefighting and rescue equipment to
the Glynn County Fire Department that would otherwise not be purchased.
Those that own property on Saint
Simons and Sea Islands can expect to receive their calendars the first week of
December. Those that do not receive a calendar by mail can pick one up at their
local Glynn County fire station beginning the week of December 10th.
While the calendar is free, a
contribution is greatly appreciated.
