Thanksgiving Traditions

Aside from hitting the road and eating way too much, nonprofit and association employees have lots of other special Thanksgiving traditions. Cornerstones Healthy Families program manager Jeanine Gravette tells us Black Friday is always on her agenda. She starts the experience with her mom at 5:30pm on Thanksgiving and they “don’t stop until Friday afternoon.” She says she once stood in line at a toy store for three hours.

Cornerstones volunteer and drives manager Alacia Earley says she always tries new baking recipes on her “unsuspecting” family. Their favorite so far was a red velvet cheesecake. The one that didn’t go over well was a chocolate mousse, which resembled chocolate soup. ASCD legal assistant Brigid Prescott and her family bake everyone’s favorite kind of pie – chocolate, blueberry, pumpkin, raspberry, apple, and one sneaky cheesecake. Of course they’re all topped with whipped cream. “It may seem like way too much, but it always works out just right,” she adds.

We all eat turkey for Thanksgiving, but is it fresh or frozen? The one on ASCD staff attorney Mazna Malanga’s table comes from a farm in Columbia, MD. “After many years of frozen birds, I can truly appreciate the difference,” she says. Or maybe it’s her husband’s “excellent two-day brining recipe.” If you go by Deborah Hall-Pope’s house, you’ll likely hear singing. ASCD’s chief organizational services officer holds family sing-alongs, duets, trios and quartets every Thanksgiving, ranging from gospel to Motown. The tradition is getting passed down to the next generation of nieces and nephews.

ASAE CEO John Graham is watching the roads since he'll be one of millions on them. John and his wife, Susan, head to Philly every Thanksgiving to be with family.