Giving back was once again a focal message at the Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG) bi-annual PrimeTime event and expo, held in San Antonio, Texas last month. To set the tone for the four-day show, the mainstage keynote concluded with a moment of recognition for Charlotte, North Carolina-based member, Queen City Homestore.

Despite losing the full inventory of their Morganton, NC location during Hurricane Helene last year, the Queen City team became the driving force behind a massive effort — Hope for the High Country — in partnership with No Child Hungry (NCH) and local media. In addition to sponsoring meals and hygiene bags, Queen City donated showroom space and delivery vehicles to coordinate volunteer efforts that led to the mass distribution of food, coats, hygiene kits, stuffed animals, baby supplies and more. Over 500,000 meals alone were packed and delivered to local High Country families and other North Carolinians in need.

“No Child Hungry, as a certifying organization for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, is happy to recognize Roddey Player Sr., Roddey Player Jr., Kate Player, the Player family and Queen City Homestore,” announced William Lowery, founder and president of No Child Hungry. “On behalf of the White House and President Donald J. Trump, we are pleased to present the Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award to each with thanks from a grateful community and a grateful nation.”

When accepting the award on stage at PrimeTime, the Player family was quick to acknowledge the entire Queen City team along with other volunteers who helped to further the efforts of Hope for the High Country across Western North Carolina.

“We are incredibly honored to receive the prestigious Presidential Volunteer Service Award,” shared Roddey Player, Sr., president and CEO of Queen City Homestore. “We’re humbled by the support of nearly 2,600 community volunteers and the unwavering dedication of our amazing team who made this event a success. This recognition reflects our commitment to giving back to the community that has given us so much. At Queen City Homestore, we aim to be known not just for what we do, but for the impact we make in the lives of our employees and the community we serve.”

Queen City is one powerful story among over 100 charitable acts throughout the U.S., organized by more than 80 unique NMG member businesses in recent years. What started as a one-time partnership between No Child Hungry and NMG has now become a movement — one that continually inspires Nationwide Marketing Group to do more.

That initial partnership occurred in 2018, when NMG CEO Tom Hickman committed to packing 100,000 meals for NCH over a four-day period at the company’s PrimeTime show in Orlando, Florida. With about 50,000 meals packed in the first two days, Hickman rallied attendees to help with the remaining half.

“Today and every day, 16,000 children will die from starvation or lack of nutrition,” Hickman shared at the 2018 event, to explain the passion and need behind the partnership with NCH. “We’ve provided the materials. We need your manpower,” Hickman continued. “We need the power of you to finish the other 50,000 in the next two days. Who’s going to make sure that happens for me?”

After reaching that initial 2018 goal, Nationwide Marketing Group has since continued partnering with No Child Hungry at PrimeTime shows around the country and members have furthered the mission in their local communities. To-date, over 3 million meals have been packed. Yet, the partnership goes beyond packing meals. Over the years, NMG teams have been hands-on in Haiti, New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix and other locations to provide kids with items ranging from bikes to mattresses.

In 2024, Nationwide Marketing Group formally established NMG Gives with a purpose to uplift and transform the lives of children in need around the globe through local activations. With this intentional focus, NMG Gives has chosen to continue its partnership with No Child Hungry and add two additional charities — Smile Together and Destination Hope. Smile Together supports children born with cleft and cranial facial conditions and Destination Hope is dedicated to advancing research, treatment and care of pediatric brain cancer in partnership with the Tish Brain Tumor Center at Duke University in North Carolina. Both organizations seek to make treatments more accessible for kids and their families.

Hickman officially announced the NMG Gives initiative last month at PrimeTime in San Antonio, Texas. During the event, attendees packed over 30,000 items for fire relief kits, as part of an NCH initiative to help victims of the recent California wildfires.

Because the mission of NMG Gives includes supporting and enabling the charitable efforts of all connected individuals and organizations — from members and vendor partners to NMG employees — this movement is only expected to grow in 2025 and beyond. What was once Hickman’s rallying cry has now become a perpetual promise: “We will give back!”