Telegraph file photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, left, and Wild Irish Breakfast "blarney master" Chris Williams listen to Gov. Chris Sununu's jokes during a previous breakfast. This year's 30th breakfast will take place virtually. (Telegraph file photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

While there’s no such thing as a good time frame for a global pandemic to invade our shores and throw into chaos life as we know it, some folks in these parts can’t help but look back at last year’s sudden, mid-March standstill and wonder how the timing could have been worse.

Take Nashua-based PLUS Company, for instance.

“Everything was done … all that was left was the event itself,” PLUS Company adult education director Leni Hodgins said last week, referring to last year’s Wild Irish Breakfast.

The event, which debuted in 1991, quickly became the agency’s signature fundraiser, known for combining the humorous blarney of certain “Irish wits” with raising funds for PLUS Company’s adult education and socialization program, a fairly new addition to the agency’s programming that guides clients toward “developing skills, increasing self-reliance and becoming vital, productive members of the community,” according to its mission statement.

Historically held on, or close to, St. Patrick’s Day, the WIB was just two days away from its 29th annual “blarneyfest” when PLUS Company executive director Kim Shottes called her department heads into her office for what would turn out to be a somber, difficult meeting.

TELEGRAPH FILE PHOTO Chris Williams, "Blarney Master" for the 2017 Wild Irish Breakfast, laughs at a joke by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, one of several "Irish Wits" who spoke at that year's event. (TELEGRAPH FILE PHOTO)

The pandemic wasn’t even called a pandemic yet. “Coronavirus” and “COVID-19” were still strange, new words and phrases that reminded us of high school biology class.

But it was clear, given the drastic, unprecedented measures health experts and (some) politicians were taking – who ever thought all restaurants and bars would be suddenly shut down a couple days before St. Patrick’s Day? – that whatever this new virus was, it meant business.

So the question was posed; “Should we cancel?” Hodgins remembers the discussion: If they did cancel, would they be overreacting?

The decisions that top agency officials must make don’t get any tougher than this.

It was decided to err on the side of caution and pull the plug. “In hindsight, it was a great call,” Hodgins said. “Little did we know then how deadly this virus would be, and how much our lives would be altered forever.”

Dean Shalhoup

Longtime reporter, columnist and photographer, is back doing what he does best ñ chronicling the people and history of Nashua. Reaching 40 years with The Telegraph in September, Deanís insights have a large, appreciative following.

But as the leaders and staff of successful social services agencies do, those at the PLUS Company soon began thinking about what the future may look like for the Wild Irish Breakfast.

The one thing that was cast in stone was that the WIB would take place in some form in 2021 and beyond.

Which brings us to the WIB’s first foray into the “virtual world,” where things that used to happen in meeting rooms and ballrooms now take place on computer monitors and TV screens, where that insidious, sneaky virus can’t get at us.

This being the WIB’s 30th anniversary, organizers figured it would be appropriate to set ticket prices at $30 each, considerably lower than they were in the pre-pandemic era.

(See accompanying information box for more details on tickets for the event and the raffles and the format).

The all-star panel of Irish wits promise to be just as funny and entertaining on the screen as they have been standing in-person before a sold-out ballroom.

Back again as master of ceremonies – known as the “blarney master” in WIB circles – is the colorful and quick-witted Chris Williams, who took over for former mayor and WIB co-founder Bernie Streeter a few years ago.

On the “virtual dais” with Williams will be Mayor Jim Donchess, Gov. Chris Sununu, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, and First Baptist Church Pastor Maggie Lewis, who will deliver the blessing, but is also known to slide in a joke before giving up the microphone.

On the “probable-but-not-yet-confirmed” list as of this writing is U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire’s senior senator.

So this year, rather than get up early and drive up to the Double Tree, WIB “attendees” will enjoy all the blarney from the comfort of home, an office or wherever one happens to be between 8-9 a.m. on St. Patricks Day.

One downside: You’ll have to scramble your own eggs, fry your own bacon and brew your own coffee. Or you could run down to your closest drive-thru.

Also this year, attendees, whether they’re speaking or listening or both, will be holding onto fond memories of Michael Monks, a longtime friend of the PLUS Company who, with Streeter, co-founded the WIB way back when.

Monks, a well-known commercial realtor who served a number of years on the PLUS Company’s board of directors, passed last October at age 71.

PLUS Company marketing director Jen Cusato said the other day that the committee is still working out the finer details of the agenda, such as the order in which the speakers will appear.

Cusato said organizers may have become overwhelmed by the technical aspects of putting on a wholly virtual Wild Irish Breakfast, had it not been for “our very good friends over at Molloy’s,” referring to Molloy Sound and Video, one of the region’s most sought-after production companies.

“They’ll make sure we’re pushing the right buttons at the right time,” Cusato said with a laugh.

Folks who tune in St. Patrick’s Day morning will also hear from not one, not two, but three client speakers: Jess Maki, Bryan Kearns and Katie Koczan will each share their experiences as members of the PLUS Company community.

And with prizes like a $3,000 American Express card “for your luxury ‘staycation’ or home renovation project,” and a $2,000, 70-inch TV with Rocketfish wall mount, you won’t want to miss out on the raffle (full list is online).

Now, to instill a little Wild Irish Breakfast spirit as we count down to St. Patrick’s Day, I’ll leave you with one of the jokes Pastor Maggie Lewis treated her audience to a few breakfasts ago, and which she prefaced with “Prayer is important, but I was told to start with a joke.”

“An Irishman from Boston was looking for a parking spot … he’s looking, looking, looking … he can’t find one. Desperate, he looks skyward: ‘God, if you find me a parking space I’ll stop drinking and go to church every week.

“Suddenly there’s a bolt of lightening and a crack of thunder, and a parking space manifests itself.

“The Irishman, overjoyed, looks up and shouts, ‘Never mind, God … I just found one!'”

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IF YOU GO

The PLUS Company is hosting its 30th Wild Irish Breakfast as a virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will take place online from 8-9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 17.

Tickets are $30 per person. To register for tickets, as well as to purchase raffle tickets, go to www.wildirishbreakfast.org and click on “event & raffle tickets.”

Once the ticket request and payment are received, the link to the event will be sent to applicants.

Ticket registration is open through March 16.

The page includes an option to make a donation to the PLUS Company.

More information and additional details are listed on www.wildirishbreakfast.org.

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Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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