Remembering Coop

This weekend is our annual Camp Out For Kids Toy Drive.  And boy, oh, boy is it bittersweet this year.  The camp out is great, it brings Christmas to less fortunate kids right here in the Hudson Valley and it was started way back in the mid nineties by my friend and colleague Mark Cooper, known to thousands as "Coop".  Coop loved the camp out, and he really loved kids.  He also adored our listeners...every one of them.  Coop got great joy from hanging out with listeners and their kids during the camp out, and knowing what a difference he was making in so many lives.  Even when he had health problems and felt weak and tired, he worked that camp out and stayed there night and day with a huge smile on his face!  Sadly, Coop passed away in August, which is why this year's Camp Out For Kids is so bittersweet and so important.  We'll be in the parking lot of the Poughkeepsie Plaza this weekend collecting toys to give to the Salvation Army.  We're doing it for the kids....and for Coop.