“20,000 pounds for Bryan to come down!”
That was a mantra heard across the radio airwaves of central North Carolina this week. It was the go-to saying adopted by the MIX 101.5 (WRAL-FM) morning crew for Smithfield Foods Hunger Relief Day at the N.C. State Fair on Thursday, Oct. 24.
But what did it mean? It meant a big promotion of the special day thanks to the on-air team of Kyle Smelser, Bryan Lord and Sarah King. The MIX Mornings co-hosts had a big idea to get their listeners excited for the State Fair food drive by putting Bryan on the SkyGazer Ferris wheel on Thursday and keeping him on the ride until fairgoers brought 20,000 lbs. of nonperishable food to the fair gates.
Food raised would normally go to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, but this year the Food Bank decided to send donations to Western North Carolina to help with hurricane recovery. The change added an extra sense of weight to the day.
So for days leading up to Hunger Relief Day, the co-hosts encouraged listeners to respond to the call: “20,000 pounds for Byran to come down!” Since Bryan has some anxiety over heights, he was especially eager to get people to the fairgrounds quickly on Thursday. The sooner 20,000 lbs. was donated, the sooner he could get off the SkyGazer – a ride that rises 155 feet high. That’s 62.5 feet higher than Dorton Arena.
After days of building anticipation, Thursday began early with the radio station’s setup team (including an engineer and the promotions director) arriving at the fairgrounds around 6 a.m. By 8 a.m., Kyle, Bryan and Sarah headed out from the studio and made their way to the SkyGazer. They were broadcasting in the shadow of the ride by 8:30, as they continued to push for listeners to come to the fair with food donations.
As soon as the SkyGazer started at 10 a.m., Bryan was on the ride. Fairgoers were donating at a quick pace at the gates, and it seemed Bryan may get lucky and have a relatively short ride. In about an hour, the team was halfway to the goal of 20,000 lbs. of food collected.
Meanwhile, Smithfield Foods, the N.C. State Fair and the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina were hosting a presentation in which Smithfield donated 500,000 servings of protein. That’s a huge donation that wouldn’t be added to the overall total until later.
So Bryan was still going ‘round and ‘round when Commissioner Steve Troxler dropped by for a surprise visit after the Smithfield Foods presentation. He doubled up on surprises when he agreed to join Bryan in his gondola on the ride.
“I’m going to do my very best, and I need to do this,” Troxler said after getting on the SkyGazer. “I have actually taken three days and flown in helicopters into western North Carolina and seen the horrific, horrific devastation that’s up there, and I know the need for this food. So anything that I can do to magnify what we would normally do, that’s what I need to be doing.”
Ultimately, fairgoers donated 20,000 lbs. at the gates by 11:45 a.m., and Bryan was able to get off the ride in just under two hours. After initially joking that he felt awful, Bryan shared his thoughts on the experience.
“It was really amazing. Everything put into perspective, western North Carolina is going through so much, and being on a Ferris wheel for two hours is really it’s nothing,” he said. “And having Troxler on there with me for a second, he really crystallized everything.
“He mentioned that he knows somebody who lost 11 family members, and so with that perspective… I’m on a Ferris wheel, and I know I hate heights, but what I just went through is nothing compared to what Western North Carolina is going through. So to do this was nothing compared to that, and it’s just inspiring to see everybody in the community come together.”
The MIX Mornings co-hosts really didn’t know what to expect as far as how quickly they’d meet the goal, but they were confident that their listeners would respond for a good cause.
“To be honest, I’m not surprised at all by our listeners, because every time we give them a goal, especially if it’s got a good reason behind it, they always hit it,” Sarah said. “So the fact that everyone stepped up and brought the food and made it happen, I’m happy to say that I am not at all surprised. I’m more proud.”
The unorthodox promotion certainly added to a day that’s already a big event at the N.C. State Fair. It’s often the most attended weekday. Pushing the WRAL-FM listeners to join in the food donation effort resulted in a bit more excitement.
“I’m just happy to be here today supporting Hunger Relief Day and our fellow Carolinians. I think it’s just such a beautiful thing when we can unite,” Kyle added. “You know, the power of the community together rallying for this same goal is just really a beautiful thing to be a part of.”