The team behind the 30th Annual WRAL-TV Coats for the Children Telethon poses on the set in Studio A on Friday, December 14, 2018.
WRAL-TVs Coats for the Children Telethon marked two milestones at the daylong event on Friday, December 14, 2018. First, the Telethon celebrated 30 years of working to keep Triangle children warm, and the second, the broadcast would be the final run for WRAL-TV Director of Local Production Phyllis Parish. Parish will be retiring in March after 36 years at the Big 5.
Things worked together send her out with a bang.
Fridays weather was rainy and raw which worked in our favor, said Parish. Weather was top of mind when people went outside and considered how difficult it would be without warm jackets. And our crew didnt let the heavy rain stop our outdoor plans. We made snow under the breezeway instead of the WRAL Plaza and we set up tents at Jiffy Lube where Elizabeth Gardner could stay dry while doing interviews and raking in coats and toys. Those live shots really brought home the chilly weather and the thought of cold months to come for families needing warm winter wear.
In honor of the 30th telethon, Great Outdoor Provision Company celebrated by donating 30 boxes of 300 coats and a $3,000 check to the Salvation Army.
Major Stephen Long with Wake Countys Salvation Army also got in on the 30th year with a fun idea he rang the Salvation Army kettle bell for 30 straight hours and raised close to $3,500 for our telethon! reported Parish.
WRAL-TV's Brian Shrader cheerfully accepts a donation from the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority during WRAL's 2018 Coats for the Children Telethon on Friday, December 14.
At first she worried because fewer companies committed to contribute. But WRAL staffers stepped up to fill the gap.
While planning this year s telethon, we unfortunately did not get as many check presentations from businesses, said Parish. Perhaps it was because they had already donated during the recent hurricanes. More anchors stepped up and offered their popular, behind-the-scenes station tours and we raised close to $5,000 with those! That helps the Salvation Army serve over 35 families in need of a hand up.
All that three-decade excitement added up to a big result.
Last year s total was $183,000, the most we had ever raised for the Salvation Army, she said. Of course, the team always wants to exceed the previous years total and we are well on our way! We ended the telethon Friday night with $154,000. But we continue raising money on WRAL.com online and text to give through the end of December. Currently, we are over $166,500! I feel confident we'll have a new Coats Telethon record by December 31. That feels perfect for our 30th year!
Parish always works behind the scenes producing the telethon, but this year her partner-in-crime, Corp/WRAL-TV Director of Community Relations Loretta Harper-Arnold made sure Parish got a moment in the spotlight.
My biggest surprise Friday was at the end of our 7pm special, explained Parish. Loretta pushed me onto the set and the anchors presented lovely flowers and an on-air thank you, since Im retiring next year. Wow, they got me good! Thoughts were swirling as I stood in the lights with Deb, Greg, Kathryn and Gerald. Hes asking me questions. I dont wanna be on-camera! I dont like surprises. Now were gonna run long! Being a producer, I was worried about out time LOL. But I was honored and blown away by their kind tribute.
WRAL-TV's Phyllis Parish is honored as the News & Observer's Tar Heel of the Week to mark her producing WRAL-TV's Coats for the Children Telethon for the final time. Parish will retire in March, after 36 years with WRAL.
Also to highlight Parish and her contributions, the News & Observer selected her as the Tar Heel of the Week, publishing a special piece about her on the day of the Telethon.
News & Observer: She helps thousands of North Carolina kids stay warm in the winter with coats and gloves
Parish reminisced about the years at the helm of the Coats Telethon, a cause which is near and dear to her heart:
Its been a privilege working on every telethon for the last three decades. I have so many memories associated with Coats. I remember sweet Mr. Ovel, who brought in over 100 handmade hats and mittens to share with local children. Picture an older gentleman taking the time to crochet all of those soft, warm items! It made my heart smile.
The dynamic duo behind WRAL-TV's Coats for the Children Telethon, Corp/WRAL-TV Community Relations Director Loretta Harper-Arnold (left) & WRAL-TV Director of Local Production Phyllis Parish give a thumbs up to the great results of the 30th Annual Telethon in Studio A on Friday, December 14, 2018.
I remember the Sandy Hook nightmare happening right before our 1pm special. I will never forget our broadcast team and all the phone volunteers huddled around a TV in the studio watching that tragedy unfold ironically on the day we were helping local children in our neighborhoods.
Handbell choirs, Bill Leslies performances, school kids bringing in giant bags filled with coats, Southern Snowman s snow, Santa, Wool E. Bull, Monica Lalibertes sweet pups, Raleigh Little Theatres fairy godmother weve used all kinds of fun elements through the years with one goal in mind to keep the phones ringing for the Salvation Armys life changing work.
WRAL-TVs Coats for the Children continues to make warm miracles happen for children in the need in the Triangle. Over 30 years, Parish and her team have made it snow on set, decorated trees with knitted hats, had variety of special guests and much more.
This project brings a lot of joy both inside and outside the station, concluded Parish. I think the Coats Telethon team would agree, theres nothing better
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
03/04/2026
Live Vertical Video automatically track the action on the court via AI technology and delivers a fully optimized, 9 16 live feed for viewers...
03/04/2026
As the Illini make their first trip to college basketball's biggest stage si...
The team behind the 30th Annual WRAL-TV Coats for the Children Telethon poses on the set in Studio A on Friday, December 14, 2018.
