101.5 WPDH has
been on the air for 35 years now, and through those years WPDH has contributed
many hours to various local charities. This year marks the 28th anniversary of
the most famous WPDH Hudson Valley Fundraiser, ROOF-A-THON.
Roof-A-Thon
started 27 years ago at the 7-11 location in Poughkeepsie. Years following, the
event was moved to the 7-11 on Route 9 in Wappingers Falls. Many years were
spent on the "Roof" and many h...ours dedicated by WPDH staff, and volunteers from all
over the Hudson Valley to benefit the very worthy MDA. During the many years on
the "Roof", the event has seen the likes of various WPDH morning shows from
Wakin Up With The Wolf, Coop & Tobin, Coop & Mikey, and others. Through
the years at 7-11, the event has become very well known.
One of the most
notable parts of Roof-a-thon are the WPDH Road Warriors! The Road Warriors are
teams of Volunteers who lined up on all sides of the roads and collected donations
or "Voluntary Tolls" from all of Route 9 passer-bys. Another feature of
Roof-A-Thon which has grown since day 1 is the Roof-A-Thon band stage. As the
years passed by, being able to play on "The Stage" became a golden opportunity
for bands in the Hudson Valley to play. Year after year, more and more bands
threw their name in the running to be selected to play the stage. As years
passed, the band stage popularity grew more and more, and attracted more and
more people.
Over time, Roof-A-Thon completely grew out of its current location
at 7-11 in Wappingers Falls. A decision was made to move Roof-A-Thon from its
current location at 7-11 to Foam and Wash Car wash, where there was ample room
to broadcast, and have a band stage located over at the Poughkeepsie Galleria.
The next two years were very successful events, generating lots of donations for
all of the charities.
In late
2006, New York State Law's now
prohibited the WPDH Road Warriors from collection donations on Route 9. With the
road being one of Roof-a-Thon's major income sources, this put a serious barrier
between putting on an event and generating income for the charities.
The
decision was made in 2007 to try a different avenue for collecting money. With
the changing economy, it was decided to bring ROOF-A-THON to different towns in
the Hudson Valley. We had setup locations in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, and various
locations throughout the Hudson Valley.
In 2008, Roof A Thon had its 25th
Anniversary and to celebrate we had a weekend long festival at Dutchess Stadium
which featured a Car, Truck, and Bike Show, a Family Fun Festival and a concert
featuring Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
In 2009, Roof A thon
needed a new venue. After searching for months, we finally found our
venue in the Village of Wappingers Falls at Mesier Park. Many people
ask “Why did you still call it Roof-A-Thon when you are not actually on a Roof?”,
well the answer is simple, the event just wouldn’t be the same! Our WPDH
Promotions department spent days setting up the event, and actually building a
stage which looks just like a Roof. So much history has been with
the “Roof A Thon” name that we could not give it up, and not to mention it has
become so recognizable in our community that changing the name would only hurt
the event.
In 2012, we managed to find a way to bring the event BACK to route 9 AND back to the ROOF. We moved to the corner of Hudson Cadillac Buick GMC and the Diamond Mine right near the Poughkeepsie Galleria while broadcasting from the Roof of the Diamond Mine. We were able to get the Road Warriors out onto the side roads, but off of Route 9. The Chance in Poughkeepsie now hosted the WPDH Roof A Thon Concert with lots of local music!
This year the WPDH Craig Thomas Pest Control Roof-A-Thon will
be the weekend of September 27, 28 and 29 and will be held in the memory of our long time friend, dedicated host Mark Cooper. "Coop" has hosted many Roof A Thons dedicating hours and hours to raising money for the kids. This year, we all will pitch in and continue his vision and do whatever we can to help the kids and anyone affected by Type 1. We take to the Roof of the Diamond Mine on Friday, and broadcast through Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon we will then host our live music party at the Chance and aim to end the weekend on a strong high note and with LOTS of money for the kids.
We look forward to seeing everyone stop by and as Coop would say, "drop some of your quiet money in those buckets!".
