Raising Funds for KYFC-TV
Construction of a television station is an expensive undertaking. Equipment purchases
make up the greatest portion of the expense for a new start-up station. There are
also licensing and permits along with the associated legal fees that must be obtained.
All of this translates into dollars. Dr. Al was bold in his faith and knew that God
could and would provide the funds that were needed. Overall, it was estimated that
it would cost around two million dollars to build the TV station. After that there
would be the operating costs involved in producing and transmitting the programming
out to the viewers. Dr. Al proposed a number of ways to raise the needed funds to
make all of this possible.
The brochure below was published to share Dr. Al’s vision and how it would be done.
As the old saying goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Dr. Al
knew how to inspire people to take on one small part in their giving and collectively
raise the money needed. Dr. Al often said, “Plan your work, then work your plan.”
The flip side of the brochure shown below tells about how the vision of KYFC-TV began.
There is also a breakout showing how the two million dollars will be spent. The photo
shown in the lower left and in the center were taken at the KCMO-TV studios where
KCYFC’s program “Christ Unlimited” was taped before the KYFC-TV production facility
had been constructed. The source of the photo in the lower right is unknown but is
believed to have been taken at the Hallmark production center that was in Kansas
City at that time.
In a filing submitted to the FCC in December 1978 the breakdown of where the necessary
funds needed to construct the station would come from. These estimates are shown
on the left below.
1977 Walk-A-Thon
|
$93,000
|
1978 Walk-A-Thon
|
$129,000
|
Foundations
|
$30,000
|
Tower Pin fund drive
|
$400,000
|
Cash gifts from over 27,000 people
|
$948,000
|
Total
|
$1,500,000
|
Groundbreaking
The hand-out below is of the TV-50 groundbreaking ceremony held prior to the first
Walk-A-Thon. Dr. Al is addressing the crowd. On the right is Ronnie Metsker. Joe
Snelson, TV-50 Chief Engineer is in the foreground. While typical ground breaking
ceremonies utilize shovels this one included a backhoe seen to the right of Dr. Al.
This groundbreaking was primarily for the new studio addition which would be built
over the top of the existing KCYFC office complex. This new addition included a basement
area in front of the office complex to accommodate needed space for the current KCYFC
staff.
Lapel Pins
The Tower Pin fund drive was mentioned as a way of raising funds for KYFC-TV. The
camera pin on the left was worn by KYFC-TV staff members.
The bronze pin (center) with a ruby was an initial level for giving for donations
under $1000. The pin on the right with the five point diamond was given to those
that contributed $1000 or more. Additional stones would be added at the bottom of
this pin for each additional amount given of $1000.
Auction
Another interesting fund raising event that was held was an auction. For this event
people donated various items ranging from electronic equipment to furniture. Students
from a local auction school donated their time to come and practice their vocal skills
at auctioning.
Joe Snelson shares a story regarding the picture shown on the right. This picture
was one of the items up for auction. It is a three minute time exposure taken during
a very severe thunderstorm over the Kansas City area. This picture was taken over
the old Kansas City airport just west of downtown. It was taken in June, 1961. If
you do a count you will see eight significant lightning discharges during that time.
When I saw the picture I just had to have it.
Auction bids were being taken over the phone as well as those in the live studio
audience. I forget what the opening bid was for, but I think it was around $50. Several
were bidding on this picture including myself. There was one bidder on the phone
that kept hanging in there as well as myself. Bidding went along and the bidders
began dropping out leaving only me and the one person on the phone. Interestingly,
the operator talking to the person on the phone happened to be my wife! I met my
wife shortly after starting at KYFC-TV. She was a graduate of the second Christ Unlimited
Bible Institute (CUBI) class. We hadn’t been married too long and here we were going
back and forth with bids and the auctioneer urging us on. I had decided that my limit
was $100 and was going to stop there. When bidding reached $100 I think the person
on the phone said $110. The auctioneer looked at me and I said a firm no! My wife
told the person on the phone they had the winning bid and won the picture. They responded
by saying they didn’t want it and hung up. So, the auctioneer looked back at me and
said my $100 bid was still standing. I said yes, and the picture was mine. Being
such a unique picture I had a negative made at Custom Color Corp. I keep it locked
in a safe place just in case something were to happen to the picture. I am glad I
did that as the original has faded over the years. My copy is mounted in a frame
with ultraviolet protective glass to protect it from sunlight. Was it worth it? Absolutely,
because the monies raised helped to launch Christian television in Kansas City.
Walk-A-Thons
The next fund raising event was held on October 8, 1977, it was a Walk-A-Thon. The
map below shows the route with the beginning being at the KCYFC headquarters building
shown on the left. The midway point is shown on the right being at the Colonial Presbyterian
Church. This was an all day event and concluded in time for the weekly Saturday Night
KCYFC Rally.
On the right is a large newspaper ad that was taken out in the Kansas City Star.
Click on the ad to see a full screen view. You will see a handwritten date in the
upper right of the ad showing it was published on December 22, 1977. This was just
a week after KYFC-TV signed on.
There was another Walk-A-Thon that took place in October 1978. It took a different
route. It went from the KCYFC headquarters building out to the new tower site near
56th and Bennington. By then tower erection was well under way. Walkers got to see
close up view of the tower sections that were assembled on the ground. The Walk-A-Thon
concluded back at KCYFC headquarters and, again, before the Saturday night rally
started. The excerpt below from Conquest tells about that Walk-A-Thon.
[Joe Snelson recalls one rather unforgettable experience about this groundbreaking
ceremony. During the set-up prior to the ceremony the backhoe was being moved into
place to the northwest corner of the building. There was a line of shrubs in front
of the building. These shrubs hid a a gas meter that was near the corner of the building.
The backhoe bucket inadvertently slammed into the gas meter breaking the pipe that
fed to inside the the building. Mind you, this was not your typical house type gas
meter. This was a large commercial type meter that supported all the heating needs
of the building as well as the commercial type kitchen in the basement. The gas line
was two inch in diameter! So, when the pipe broke it was serious business with high
pressure gas being discharged into the air. Joe ran across the street to the gas
station on the corner of 47th and Rainbow and asked if they had a wrench we could
borrow. They did! Fortunately, the pipe that broke was after the main shut-off valve.
The gas station attendant grabbed a wrench and ran over to the meter and was able
to close the shut-off valve. All was now good so the ceremony could proceed as planned.]
A view from the rooftop of the KCYFC office building showing a good attendance at
the ground breaking event.
At center stage is Dr. Al Metsker, speaking at the mic is Joe Snelson, Chief Engineer.
David Lewis is on the roof with trumpet in hand. The person on the left is assumed
to be John Flournoy, Architect for the studio building.
Even after KYFC-TV signed on the air there were ongoing operational costs that needed
to be raised. A primary way to raise the funds was through telethons. These would
typically be held annually or if there was a special need that would arise. In the
photos below Marilyn Lewis, David Lewis and Ronnie Metsker are reading pledges that
were made for the Decade of Destiny Telethon conducted in 1980. David would often
play a victory fanfare on the trumpet when certain giving goals would be met.