Kenneth Greer Is This Week’s Caught in the Act Recipient

If you've ever bought any of the auction items or won a raffle prize from the Minden St. Jude fundraiser, odds are that you've indirectly come into contact with Kenneth Greer.

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Kenneth is the un-sung hero of this incredible fundraiser and because of his willingness to work, and work hard, and his dedication to this event, the Minden St. Jude Auction is one of the most successful in the country.

And it's because of his heart and love for others that Chris McGarity sent us an amazing nomination for Kenneth, making him and easy choice for this week's Kiss Country Caught in the Act Award.

One of my favorite movies growing up was The Wizard of Oz. In one of the closing scenes, Dorothy meets the Wizard. The Wizard appeared great and ominous. As Dorothy talks to the Wizard, Toto runs to the side and pulls on a closed curtain. Behind the curtain is an ordinary man who is controlling the display and is the real wizard. The Wizard states, “Ignore the man behind the curtain”. Kenneth Greer is that man. Kenneth is the backbone of the Minden St. Jude Auction. He is a long-time volunteer, who not only works the 4 days of the auction, but year-round. In the early days, each pledge and bid were written onto carbonless forms. All transactions were in person or via the phone bank. When the idea of moving to computers was pitched to the committee, we had a leader state the internet would never work with the auction. But it wasn’t Kenneth. He took it in stride and said he would do whatever it took to make it work. In 2007, the auction moved from a handwritten, paper-intensive system to a computer-based system. This was due to Kenneth Greer. Kenneth wrote the program and meticulously worked through each step. From 2007- to current Kenneth and his team begin on the Monday before the auction and transform the Minden Civic Center into the electronic brains of the auction. During the auction, Kenneth is the first to arrive and last to leave each day. Kenneth is everywhere helping with all facets of the auction. You often hear “Where is Kenneth” or just “KENNETH!” yelled across the Civic Center when a problem occurs. Kenneth is there every hour except when he leaves Wednesday and Sunday evenings to attend church. Kenneth’s work does not stop after the auction. Kenneth submits the data to St. Jude for billing of the Partner in Hopes and creates the database used to bill other bids/pledges locally. The software designed by Kenneth for the auction is a project he is continually improving. It is true nothing is IDOIT proof, but he continues to try. Several executives for St. Jude have traveled to Minden to see Kenneth work. Kenneth will deflect any praise and try to pass it on to his team, but he is the leader and the knowledge. Kenneth is also a member of Eastside Missionary Baptist Church. Kenneth was the music director for years before taking a year off. Kenneth also manages the Eastside IT program and led the way to broadcast services during COVID. Kenneth manages the missionary programs for the church. As with St. Jude Kenneth is generally the first to arrive and the last to leave the Church. I believe Kenneth is a very worthy person to receive the Caught in the act award. He truly is the unsung hero, looking for no recognition, but doing his best to serve his God and community.

Kenneth Greer, because you've been 'Caught in the Act' the gang at Silver Star Smokehouse have a $100 Gift Certificate for you and the family to come have dinner on them!

Take a listen to the phone call we made to Kenneth to let him know that he was this week's Caught In The Act Award recipient.