It was a rough meeting from the beginning. The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce knew they needed to shake things up, knew they had to find a way to connect with a younger demographic without alienating what the folks over at Rod Sickler called the “Blue-Haired Granny Contingency” — a moniker that almost caused the representatives from Bridle Brook Adult Community to leave the table altogether. Had it not been for the complementary bowl of Werther’s Originals that United Way CEO Sue Grey had set in the middle of the table, they may well have done just that.
“Why don’t we make a YouTube video of me doing a handstand?” said the guy from Soccer Planet as he stood from his chair and prepared to fling his legs in the air for the third time since the meeting had begun.
“Jesus, always with the handstands,” said the dude from BPC, Inc. “Why don’t you think of something original for once?”
Soccer Planet guy slipped quietly back into his chair, picked up his pen, and continued working on the sketch of himself doing a handstand that he’d started earlier during the meeting.
A pall fell over the room. Everyone there, from City Girl Yogurt, to Elite Bridal, to the various radio DJs knew that the stakes were high. It was then that Jennifer Roscoe entered the meeting late, drunk again, humming a sloppy rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song, “Call Me Maybe.”
The folks at Mix 94.5 made immediate eye contact with the Parkland Volleyball team. A hush fell over the room.
“We know what we need to do,” said the two dudes from Birkey’s in perfect unison.
And with that, a holiday miracle was born.