Reflections on the Support America Rally

It started a couple of weeks ago. A caller told me about a Support America Rally that WGST was having and expressed some interest in going. I made a few phone calls to Kim Peterson, Talk Host and Tom Parker, Program Director and found out more about it.

Glenn Beck, a nationally syndicated host, put these Support America Rallies on all over the country in these last weeks and he has got more planned in the future. Technically, we are competitors with some areas overlapping in our listening areas and broadcasting at the same time of day. But this was not a time to worry about business, it was time to support America.

We began to make preparations. Joel Williams, Program Director, and I pitched to our President and Vice-President, Jay Jacobs and Jones Andrews and they gave the thumbs up. Then Amy Harrison, Sales Person, worked the phones to get support.

Memorial Park Funeral Home had a luxury bus that could seat 45 people. They agreed to donate the use and pay for the gas and driver. Atlanta Bread Company provided lunches and Jay Jacobs paid for the drinks. Zoller's Zealots were born.

We promoted the event all week and filled the last spots with people waiting by Friday morning. Angela Stanley and Lois Martin took the names and grilled the riders to make sure their intentions were honorable. We didn't want to have an empty bus because of no-shows.

I had a few more conversations with Tom Parker about parking and logistics. He really showed that this was a team effort by letting us park our bus with the VIP vehicles right by the gate of Centennial Olympic Park.

Saturday morning, I was scheduled to appear on CNN on a panel about when it is time to end dissent on the impending war with Iraq. It gave me one last opportunity to plug the event. I headed back to Gainesville to join up with the bus riders and take my seat on the bus.

It was raining hard on my way to CNN, so I was happy that it was reduced to a mist by the time I was headed back home. My son, Mark, came with me and I think the experience was an eye opener for him.

Memorial Park rolled out the red carpet and had hot coffee and had the bus in perfect condition. Zoller's Zealots hit the road. This mix of veterans, family members of servicemen, families and patriots had a blast being brought together by this common goal.

After lunch, we left the bus and headed to the park. The sparse crowd quickly grew and by the time the speeches started there was a full park and they were still coming in droves every time a MARTA train would come in. There were estimates of 25,000 in attendance. The media reported about one-tenth of that, but that is what I have come to expect. They tend to exaggerate the negative and underestimate the positive.

The high point of the program for was General Raymond Davis and his recounting of his battle experiences and the attitude he took when he commanded his men. That man is a patriot and he understands the cost of freedom.

The low point was seeing Larry from "The Regular Guys" make some really good points but then try to reduce the crowd to the lowest common denominator by giving CNN "the finger." This was such an uplifting event, using a obscene gesture threatened to reduce the impact of the rally.

The real star of the event for me was the man standing next to me. He was in an Air Force uniform. When I saw him the first time I noticed the ribbons on the front of his shirt and I thought he might be a Gulf War veteran.

I tapped him on the shoulder and introduced myself and thanked him for his service. My father taught me to do that as a child and it's a habit that hasn't left me. He seemed surprised but appreciative.

Later on, I talked to him a little more. I noticed the name on his uniform was Cody. He said he had gotten home yesterday (Friday) and that he heard about this and came over. Where he had gotten back from was Afghanistan. There is still much work to be done there.

I left my spot to walk the crowd one more time and there were even more people coming in. I did see the man in the Air Force, Cody, on the way out and shook his hand again. That is what we were there for that day, the Codys of the United States who are serving their country all over the world today, tomorrow and forever.

The ride back on the bus was a fun one. People were laughing and talking all the way back. New friends were made on Saturday and a new appreciation for what the military does for this country each and every day.

It was a good day!

Let me know what you think about this and other opinions posted here. Tune in daily on WDUN Newstalk 550 just after 9 for The Martha Zoller Show in the Atlanta area, weekly on Fox 5 Atlanta's The Georgia Gang and regularly on CNN and the Fox News Channel.
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