Columbia Falls wins bell-ringing contest
<p>Columbia Falls city staff raised the most funds in the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Drive on Dec. 19. From the left are, back row, Smith's Food and Drug manager Art Williams, fire chief Rick Hagen, B.J. Hader, Gene Woods, city attorney Justin Breck, city councilors Mike Shepard and Doug Karper, city police chief Dave Perry and Grady Jenkins; front row, city councilors Darin Fisher and Julie Plevel, city manager Susan Nicosia, mayor Don Barnhart, Salvation Army Maj. Steve Svenson, and deputy clerk Nona Douglas. Smith's matched the donations up to $500.</p>
The little city of Columbia Falls out rang the rest of the county — and out fundraised it to boot.
After a full day of ringing bells on Dec. 19 for the Salvation Army’s red-kettle campaign, Columbia Falls came out on top in a friendly competition between the Flathead Valley’s six communities.
Columbia Falls raised $1,909 during the first annual competitive “Ring Day.” Smith’s Food and Drug pitched in an additional $500, raising the total to $2,409.11.
Staff from all city departments pitched in to take one-hour shifts at the kettle, a person at each store entrance. Columbia Falls may not be the richest community, but it makes up for it in heart, city leaders noted.
Evergreen Chamber of Commerce volunteers came in second, collecting $1,724. Columbia Falls city manager Susan Nicosia said she received a call from Evergreen Chamber president B.J. Lupton congratulating her for the win.
All told, the six communities raised $6,992 during the six-hour bell-ringing blitz.
“The enthusiasm from each of the six communities was beyond our expectation,” Salvation Army director of development Bob Blake said. “This is a 423 percent increase over what we would expect from these sites on a normal day.”
Each community stationed volunteer ringers at local grocery stores. The Bigfork Chamber of Commerce came in third, with $1,473 collected at Harvest Foods. In fourth place was the city of Whitefish, with $801. The city of Kalispell raised $708, and the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce brought in $376.
The Salvation Army uses the kettle collections to provide a variety of services to those who need food, clothing and emergency assistance. Its mission is to meet human needs without discrimination.