John Summers

5:30PM–8PM

Stamp Out Hunger collects 7 tons of food for BAFP

by Ken Delaney

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) - The Branch Area Food Pantry in Coldwater is shouting out a big “Thank You” to mail carriers and pantry volunteers for making Saturday’s Stamp Out Hunger a smashing success.

The event had residents of the Coldwater area donating canned goods and placing them by their mail boxes for pickup in plastic bags provided by the Post Office. The bags were dropped off at the Post Office and then trucked over to the food pantry on Pierson Street, where volunteers assisted pantry staff with unloading, weighing, and sorting through the cans to be put on the shelves.

The Food Pantry said almost 7 tons of food was donated with the total weight tabulated at 13,390 pounds.

Mail carriers also picked up donations for the food pantries in Bronson, Quincy, and Union City with the food drive in Quincy conducted in part by high school students who volunteered to pick up the bags from front porches.

Across the U.S., it was the 25th annual letter carriers Stamp Out Hunger on Saturday.

Ken Delaney

Ken has been a familiar voice in Branch County for a quarter century with AM 1590 and FM 95.5 WTVB, coming to Coldwater in 1984 after graduating from Central Michigan University. Ken Delaney has been a fixture in the Branch County community for over 30 years. He is Market Manager, Program Director and morning show host for WTVB-AM/FM in Coldwater, Michigan, a division of Midwest Communications, Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree from Central Michigan University in Broadcast and Cinematic Arts, with a minor in Political Science. He is a three-time winner of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Excellence Award for On-Air Personality.
Ken has served as the Co-Chairman of the Tibbits Opera House Restoration Capital Campaign, and is currently the Varsity Boys and Girls Soccer Coach at Coldwater High School. He also served 8 years on the Board of Trustees of the Community Health Center of Branch County and is past-Chairman of the Branch County Republican Party. Other community leadership roles have included the Branch County Historical Society Board of Directors, Safety Director for Branch County AYSO Soccer Region 1289, Branch Family YMCA Committee, Branch County Chamber of Commerce Car Show-Swap Meet Committee Chairman, Branch County Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee Chairman, Family Services Network Board Member, the Branch County 4-H Foundation Board of Directors, and the Branch County SAFE Kids Committee. Previously Delaney has served as President of Coldwater Community Theatre, Vice President of the Coldwater Sister City Festival Committee, and Chairman of the Committee for Branch County Seniors Millage Campaign. Other committees he has served on include the Coldwater Community Schools Technology Committee, the Coldwater Community Schools Elementary Feasibility Committee, the Branch County Local Emergency Planning Committee, the Tibbits Opera Foundation Board of Directors, the City of Coldwater Multi-Purpose Recreation Center Committee, and the Community Action Agency Walk for Warmth Committee.
Ken's wife Christine is the Executive Director of the Tibbits Opera Foundation in Coldwater, MI. Their son Jason is in the masters program at the University of Central Florida and son Sean is a senior at Coldwater High School in Coldwater.