From the President's Desk: Donate online to employee holiday fund

Thank you to our generous National Press Club members who have asked how to donate to the employee holiday fund if you can't come to the Press Club and do so in person. We've now got a link where you can easily and securely give a donation electronically so if you want to donate online, click here.

And if you missed the blog in the Wire on Dec. 11, this is what I'm talking about...

All year long, the National Press Club staff works hard to make the Press Club a great place for members, clients and other guests. Now's the time of year when we get to show our thanks to them for their dedication by donating to the annual employee-holiday fund.

The fund is members' way of expressing our appreciation for our 97 staff members, several of whom have worked here since before I was born. We have an unusually dedicated cadre of people who work for the Club, and some of our longest-serving employees such as bartender Richard McClary and manager Mesfin Mekonen in the Reliable Source are the ones who best exemplify the customer service that makes the National Press Club what it is.

As a member put it in an e-mail last week, the Reliable Source "and its staff are like fine jewels." They're not the only NPC staff, of course, who exemplify the service our members have come to know around the Club. From the porters who set up our banquets, to the servers, to the office staff who make sure we're operating smoothly and in the black, it's the perfect time of year to step back and realize how blessed we as members are to have them.

The size of your donation will be confidential, but if you give your name it will be added to the growing list of members who are pitching in to thank our staff.

You can fill out a donation form at the front desk or upstairs outside the Reliable Source.

Thank you and happy holidays!