Story By: Tiffany White
Photos: Falls City Photography
The cake booth, one of the most popular attractions at the St. Joe’s Picnic for the Kids, operates like a well-oiled machine because of the ingenuity of one family whose dedication to St. Joe’s mission is admirable. Joan and Rich Flaherty, along with their daughter Grace and her husband Andy, have been the shining stars of the cake booth. It started with a friendship between the family and Cathy Norton who headed the booth back in 2006. Passionate about volunteerism, the couple worked behind the booth that year, then in 2007, Cathy moved out of town and the Flahertys eagerly took over the reins. “I think at the beginning, it was just fun and then after the second year, we realized we could make a whole lot more money. And that’s when we started going through the process of transforming it from just being a cake booth at Picnic to ‘Let’s turn this into a business,’ says Joan. Executing the plan would be simple for Rich and Joan who have a background in sales and finance respectively. Drumming up more cakes, game boards, and volunteers became their focus.
Katie Gall has been a faithful cake booth volunteer and says nothing will stop her from helping when she can. A recent Sacred Heart graduate, Katie will be attending Western Kentucky University in the fall.
The volunteers are the icing on the cake.
Recruiting volunteers takes patience, early planning, and persistence which comes easy for Rich. He starts organizing the logistics in late June which involves contacting volunteers and getting cakes donated. Rich recruits over 200 volunteers of varying ages, and they provide volunteer opportunities for students who need service hours. Their connections with the community run deep: they recruit volunteers from St. Patrick Catholic Church, Byerly Ford and the Rotary Club of Southwest Louisville.
The cake booth duties are not for the faint at heart. “We have set up, and then we have what we call ‘organizing the cake truck.’ It takes hours to organize 1800 cakes into types and flavors, so that when it comes time to disperse those cakes, they’re easy to locate. You’d be surprised how long the line becomes when we’re trying to give out cakes,” says Joan. Other volunteers work the booth, while older adults often sit and sort coins, but it doesn’t stop there. Some are responsible for ensuring that there are enough cups filled with quarters for those who want to play. Players pay $0.25 cents per chance. “We have people who are making sure the cakes are organized, and we have people giving out the cakes,” she says.
Working outside in a booth during the hottest month of the year isn’t a deterrent for these faithful volunteers. “We have two teenagers right now who have been doing this since they were in middle school. And now they run the cake truck when they are here for their shifts. They’re the ones who lead the other kids to make sure it flows and works really well. We have promoted them and given them titles. They love it,” says Rich. Art Gall, Co-Zone Leader, and his daughter Katie have also become very involved as cake booth volunteers. “I support the cake booth, because 100% of the money goes to kids who aren’t growing up with the mother I was blessed to have. It is the highlight of my summer. It is a great way to get my girls involved,” says Art.
Katie and her dad, Art Gall. “Since sixth grade, I have counted down the days until I get to work at the cake booth,” says Katie.
Katie, who will be attending Western Kentucky University in the fall, thought her move-in date for college would interfere with her volunteering this year. “Initially, she thought she was moving on August 7th, which would have conflicted with the Picnic. However, the date was pushed to August 11th, so she will now be able to return to help at the cake booth,” says Rich. This is great news for Katie, who looks forward to working at the booth alongside her dad. “It’s not just work, it’s the connections I made with the Flahertys and everyone within and outside of the cake booth…I will forever love working 20 hours to give kids the life they deserve,” says Katie.
Seeing the dedication their volunteers have, Joan says, brings them joy. “We see how excited everyone is after their shift. They’re tired, they’re hot, they’re sweaty, but they have this big smile on their face, and they’re always thanking us, and we’re like, ‘No, thank you. If we didn’t have you, we couldn’t do this.’ We can plan all we want, but if I don’t have all these volunteers. I can’t run it.”
Win a cake with the spin of a wheel. You pay $1 per chance and receive a cup containing four quarters. Next, you place your coin on a 150 number board. You choose the number you think will be called and then they spin the wheel. If the pointer lands on your number, you win a cake. The wheel spins every 30 seconds.
It’s a recipe for success that keeps working.
With the help of their cake booth supporters, they went from having 700 cakes to 2,500. They increased their game boards from five up to 10 and upsized their booth from 10 x 20 feet to 40 x 60 feet. This year, they aim to reach $500,000 in total donations and are confident they can make it happen.
In 2015, the cake booth raised $20,000 – it was the first time they hit this number and from then on, they knew they could keep the momentum going strong. “Joan tracks by the hour, so we know exactly where we are … and we look at year over year where we are. And so, we were watching. We got to the point where we knew we were going to get to $20,000 … now it doesn’t seem like it’s a lot of money, but it was such a big thing – a big threshold. And since then, our thresholds have jumped significantly,” says Rich. Joan agrees: “I think that’s when we realized that all the work, time, and planning that we had done over the years had paid off. We were giving back a nice amount for the kids. It was really exciting,” she says.
Rich, who is responsible for recruiting the volunteers, getting the cakes donated, and calling the numbers, says working the booth requires energy and enthusiasm to keep attendees engaged. “Oh, we’re flying, which is part of the success of the booth, because it’s a constant flow,” he says. And they’re strategic about everything – especially when choosing the cake flavors.
Prior to Picnic, the family reviews their offerings from the previous year to determine which flavors were in demand then make adjustments to the menu. Double Chocolate or Chocolate with yellow or white frosting are the most popular, but attendees have much more to choose from. “Chocolate is very popular, but some people really like the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. We’ve got a lot of people who love Coconut Cake, so we provide 15 different varieties between Cookie Cake, Brownie Cake, Chocolate, and White Cake. That’s something we’ve really worked on, because all of these little things add to the value of the booth, and it brings people in,” says Rich. “There’s nothing left to chance. On Picnic Day, it’s go time. We have it all worked out. We know exactly what we’re going to do. We have everything set up,” she says.
It’s a family affair. (l-r) Joan and Rich Flaherty, their daughter Grace Flaherty and son-in-law Andy Dennis. Grace started volunteering in 2004 at age 10. She and her husband became Co-Booth Captain and Zone Leader respectively in 2016.
The perfect mix: Each family member brings something valuable to the table.
Working closely together has been seamless for the family, because as Joan says, “everybody has their expertise.” “We could not source the cakes and the volunteers if we didn’t have Rich, who is phenomenal at getting our supporters. Come day of Picnic or day of setup, he steps from that role into primarily being a number caller and then I run the booth. I’m supervising all the volunteers coming in and making sure we have all the positions filled.” After Picnic, the family has a debrief meeting about what did and didn’t work and utilize the strengths of each other to outperform for the following year. “Everyone is respectful of everybody’s opinion … because everybody has a different perspective, and they see different parts of the event that someone else in the family may not have [seen],” she says. Their daughter Grace oversees the cake truck, ensuring the operations are running smoothly, while her husband Andy fills in the gaps wherever needed. “He is the jack of all trades. He may be working the board or running to get more cups for us. We definitely couldn’t do this without Andy,” says Rich.
Giving is baked into their way of life.
Aside from having a genuine appreciation for children, Rich and Joan were both raised in families who encouraged volunteerism. When they moved here from California in 1992, they hoped to leave behind a family legacy of service. “When we were invited to help with the cake booth that first year, I think we both looked at it and said, ‘Wow, maybe this is our opportunity to become connected in the community and give back. We wanted to do our part in the community and show our children that it’s important to give back,” says Joan. In previous years, Rich has often said that year would be their last year of running the cake booth, but actions speak louder than words and their commitment to the St. Joe’s mission – coupled with their self-motivated spirit – keeps them raising the bar. “We all have that drive in our hearts to be better,” says Joan. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
P.S. The St. Joe’s Picnic for the Kids is August 8, 5-10 p.m. and August 9, noon until midnight on the St. Joe’s campus. You can also make a donation to the cake booth here!
This post was supported by funds made available by the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Office of Health Equity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for STLT Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce, under RFA-OT21-2103. The content of this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of or endorsement by the Kentucky Department for Public Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.