I Ain't Sleepin' Anymore

Hey everybody,

We're two weeks away from wrapping this campaign up, and I'll tell ya' I ain't sleepin' right now. I might get two hours a night, but to me that ain't sleepin'.

I go to bed dreamin' about the United Way logo. I wake up seein' the United Way logo. This is all I think about:

I can't get this campaign out of my head. But that's a good thing with me being campaign chair.

Of course, it's not all because I'm stayin' up worryin' about this campaign. Some of it's just me runnin' around to meetings tellin' about United Way. I've gone to Denso meetings at 6:00 at night. I've gone to the Sheriff's Office at 5:30 in the morning. I've got one 5:30 in my day, but I tell ya' for United Way I'll have two!

We had our campaign cabinet meeting this morning, and things are lookin' pretty good:


Then we did a projection where we took what we have in and what we think is going to come in, and right now if all of the outstanding accounts come in at the exact same level they were at last year, we're runnin' a shortage of $3,295. I tell ya' that $3,295 is gonna' keep me awake for two weeks straight. But we're gonna' work hard these last two weeks findin' new folks and businesses to give so we can not only meet, but beat our goal. I'm confident we can do that, but it’s gonna' take every one of us doin' our part.

I feel like that song from Smokey and the Bandit where it says, "We got a long way to go and a short time to get there."

If y'all wanna' help, just make sure you get your pledge in, and if ya' know someone who doesn't contribute, tell 'em about United Way. Get 'em on-board.

I want to let y'all know that restaurants in Blount County are pitchin' in, too.


They're doing a campaign called "What Matters on Your Platter" where customers can contribute to United Way at the restaurant through November 11th. Restaurants helpin' out are Aubrey’s Restaurant, Foothills Milling Company, Gracie’s Restaurant, Huddle House, Lemon Grass, Shoney’s Restaurant and Sun Up Diner.

Just click here to read Blount Today's article about it, and click here to see what the Daily Times ran on it. Some of those restaurants are even doin' tear-off sheets where you can sign your name, and the restaurant will post it up on their walls.

I better go for now. Y'all have a good one. And contribute to United Way so that I can get some sleep at night!

Blog ya' later,
Dave Bennett

P.S. Our blog has just recently become a part of the World's Biggest Blog Party. Maryville businessman Tim Richardson came up with the idea to link up 1,000 bloggers in the hopes to raise $1,000,000 for nonprofits. They saw the blog and asked us to join. They're gonna' have a link to us from the site and everything.