On the eve of Election Day, please allow me to share my welcome remarks from our recent BUZZ in Birmingham preview party:
“Good evening everyone. My name is Michael Hemphill and it’s my privilege to be the creator of this TV show called BUZZ, which I launched in 2020 to highlight and help nonprofit organizations.
For the last 20+ years I’ve worked in the nonprofit world in and around my home in Virginia, where I’ve developed a deep passion for these charitable organizations because they literally do everything!
Consider: Over our first five years of BUZZ and 50+ episodes, we’ve featured a ballet company, a zoo, a community choir, food pantry, homeless shelters, foster care agency, unplanned pregnancy center, a business accelerator, a honeybee sanctuary and other environmental groups, an historic African-American school, literacy volunteers, service dogs, and on and on.
Here in my hometown of Birmingham, we’ve featured Children of Slain Police Officers, Studio by the Tracks, the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama, Bundles of Hope Diaper Bank … and the stars of tonight’s shows: UAB’s Nurse-Family Partnership, United Ability, Small Magic and College Choice Foundation.
The uniqueness of these organizations can only be matched by their hearts. So thank you so much for coming tonight and supporting these great nonprofits and our work.
Now, before we start the show, please allow me this Public Service Announcement:
Here in this room tonight are my dearest friends and family, along with many in the Birmingham community, who represent the full spectrum of political and religious thought.
We have here diehard Democrats and diehard Republicans … Christians and agnostics … liberals, conservatives, libertarians. If my wife’s brother was here, we would even have a real life communist. We have Trumpers, never Trumpers. People, we even have Alabama and Auburn fans … and folks there’s even here with us tonight a guy who roots for Vanderbilt.
All this to say that in the weeks ahead you may be tempted to despair … and to my daughters, nieces and nephews, I am sorry this is the political climate you’re growing up in. It didn’t use to be this way and I hope we can one day soon return to compromise, civility and decency.
In the meantime, when you are tempted to despair, I encourage you to keep in your minds and hearts what we are here tonight to celebrate: the beauty of IRS Code 501c3 and the sector that this provision inspires, which is unlike any in the world: our nonprofit organizations, which work every day, tirelessly, in every field imaginable, to make our communities and country better.
Amen? All right … on with the show!“
