The Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command 2012 Annual Doing The Most Good Luncheon was held on November 15 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel with Amy Grant as the keynote speaker. The luncheon raised $2.5 million for the 70 different programs and services that help make life better for individuals and families. Of all The Salvation Army groups worldwide, this local luncheon is the #1 Salvation Army fund-raising event.
The luncheon leadership included Luncheon Chairman: Mark Schortman, Senior Vice President & Region General Manager, Coca-Cola Refreshments; Underwriting Chairman: Lynn McBee, Community Leader; Table Sales Chairman: Gina Betts, Partner, Locke Lord LLP; Production Chairman: Shelle Sills, Vice President General Manager, Neiman Marcus.
The Faithful Missionary Baptist Church sang gospel songs to open the luncheon, followed by NBC5 morning anchor Mark Hayes who welcomed the more than 1,300 in attendance. Captain Michele and Major Ward Matthews thanked everyone for their support and announced that the luncheon had raised $2.5 million, which will help the centers that serve 3,000 meals a day and provide 338,000 shelter nights a year, along with after school programs and more. Bernice J. Washington then gave a resounding and uplifting prayer, which was followed by lunch.
After lunch, J.D. McCaslin, chair of the Salvation Army DFW Advisory Board, told a personal story of serving at The Salvation Army Carr P. Collins Social Service Center on Christmas Eve, and how he was reacquainted with a man he knew receiving help. “He had no place to go but The Salvation Army. He was at a place that would provide dignity in helping him get back on his feet.”
Mr. McCaslin introduced a story of Cassie Andrade, a single mom who has stayed at a Salvation Army drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. This came after she forged drug prescriptions and was sent to prison. Her story was told by video, and she concluded, “The biggest part of my change is from The Salvation Army.”
Guest speaker Amy Grant came to the stage and combined her guitar-playing and story-telling to share about her family, faith and forgiveness. She sang, “Thy Word,” “Hebrews 11”—the faith chapter in the Bible (not a recorded song, but one she set to music), and a few other songs, all while weaving in personal stories of her former mother-in-law Alice Fay now Mary Elizabeth Cooke, her sisters, and her immediate family. “Our journey is made more exciting by faith. The Salvation Army has a pretty broad journey because it’s preceded by faith.”