Published: October 09, 2008 08:35 pm      

Record-setting food drive restocks Bluefield Union Mission shelves

BLUEFIELD — Real-estate agents across Mercer and Tazewell counties have set a new record for a worthy cause.

A canned food-drive sponsored by the Mercer-Tazewell Board of Realtors has raised a record setting 20,132 cans of food for the food pantry at the Bluefield Union Mission. It surpassed a previous record set during a holiday school fund drive.

“By talking to some of the Realtors, I kind of got the hint that we would break the record, but I never thought we would double it,” Craig Hammond, director of the mission, said. “This is the largest food drive in the 77 year history of our organization.”

Hammond said the shelves at the food pantry were empty just 24 hours ago. The record-breaking canned food drive was announced Thursday during a real-estate luncheon sponsored by the Daily Telegraph.

“Pat and John Griffin — they are our food pantry volunteers — they came to me and said as far as they can remember this is the first time our shelves are bare,” Hammond said. “When you consider the mission distributes about 150 food bags a week — and that’s not counting the 1,100 meals we serve every week, we use up to 2,000 units (of canned food) a week. This will get us through to the holiday food drives.”

Hammond said Regency Real Estate and Auction company collected the most canned items with ERA Advantage coming in second.

“We believe in giving back to our own community,” Eddie Pauley, broker and auctioneer with Regency Real Estate and Auction Company, said. “We are a local company and we believe in giving back to the community.”

Pauley said the agents at Regency Real Estate also contribute a portion of their commission to the Union Mission.

Lee Ann Murray, chairwoman of the community committee for the Mercer-Tazewell Board of Realtors, said the board appreciates everyone’s help and support.

“I’m just really pleased that all of the real-estate companies participated, and we did in fact raise quite a bit,” Murray said. “We didn’t even shoot for breaking a record. But that was a new record.”

The real estate agents are to be commended for their service to the community, Daily Telegraph Advertising Director Terri Hale said.

“To achieve something of this magnitude shows the caring, giving and compassion that the local realtors have for the people of our community,” Hale said.

Hammond said the mission has seen a 23 percent increase in the number of those who are needing help this fall and winter.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com