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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Winter Glow shines under the tireless work of Jerry Schmidt

Jerry Schmidt turns on the light at the Winter Glow on Dec. 2 in Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)

Jerry Schmidt admits he only gets about three hours of sleep a night.

That helps explain how he has been able to put together popular community events in Spokane and keep them alive and growing.

Schmidt is the event director for the Winter Glow Spectacular light display in Riverfront Park that runs through Jan. 1.

He is also the founder of Spike and Dig in 1992 and a co-founder of Hoopfest with Rick Betts, which started in 1990.

“I am very active,” Schmidt said as he sat down recently to talk about his community organizing.

“I can’t sit still. My mind is moving. I am always trying to make things better.”

Indeed, this year’s Winter Glow has expanded its displays to 1 million lights, double the number from its first showing in 2014.

A Spokane native, Schmidt grew up in a big Catholic family in northeast Spokane and graduated from Gonzaga Prep and Eastern Washington University. He spent 34 years working for the state in social services, including aging, developmental disabilities and children’s services.

He grew up at a time when his parents taught him to help others and follow the call of President John F. Kennedy to do what you can for the country.

In the mid- 1980s, he took training through the March of Dimes and learned how to organize community fundraisers. He later became president of the local chapter of the March of Dimes, and started a golf tournament as a fundraiser.

He became comfortable with asking business and community leaders to contribute to a cause.

“I was starting to get labeled what they call a professional beggar,” he said.

In 1987, he joined the Special Olympics board of directors and was working at Lakeland Village for persons with disabilities.

He had played in a three-on-three basketball tournament in Seattle and thought the concept had a place in Spokane, in part to raise money for Special Olympics.

At the same time, Hoopfest co-founder Rick Betts was working on a similar plan.

Schmidt and Betts were introduced to one another and agreed to join forces. Hoopfest became a huge success, even in its first year in 1990.

Special Olympics continues to benefit from money raised by Hoopfest, Schmidt said.

In five years, Hoopfest went from 511 teams to 3,600 teams, and has doubled in size since 1995 to about 7,000 teams.

Betts said Schmidt was key to the success.

“Jerry did a significant amount of work,” Betts said. “He has good ideas. I would say he is very interested in Spokane, the community and ideas to make it a better place.”

Schmidt said the No. 1 secret is getting financing early. Spokane over the years has been the type of community where businesses and institutions have been willing to become sponsors.

That plays into the second secret to success: getting wide community support.

With Winter Glow, Schmidt said he had to prove to city officials that he could make the event work. He has a business license, insurance and a warehouse for storage.

When he presented the idea to city officials, Schmidt said, “I had my ducks in a row.”

The annual budget is $3 million. About 100 community sponsors support the event.

Welding students at Spokane Community College built the frames for the displays. Students at Spokane Valley Tech built trees.

Each of the displays highlights the work of various nonprofit agencies.

Schmidt said the idea for Winter Glow has its roots in a period in his childhood when seeing Christmas displays at the Crescent and other department stores was a thrill.

Schmidt said his goal is to have people coming to downtown Spokane from across the region to see the light displays, which include a number of moving exhibits.

He wants a million people to attend Winter Glow within five to 10 years, he said.

“What makes me happy is when I see other people happy,” Schmidt said.