FORT WALTON BEACH — You’ll hear Marsha Bridgewater before you ever see her. Her bell ringing changes every few minutes, but anyone in the parking lot of Publix off of Eglin Parkway knows where the sounds are coming from.
Bridgewater is one of dozens of bell ringers standing beside red kettles at area stores to collect money for the Salvation Army. But Bridgewater, better known to Publix patrons as Ms. Marsha, likes to add a little flair to her ringing.
“I’m not here to beg, I’m here to entertain,” she said as she hit the bell against her hip and danced in time to her own beat. “I just wish I had my choir with me.”
Watch this video of Marsha Bridgewater in action. >>
On a quiet Friday morning, Bridgewater arrives right on time for her 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift wearing her velvet Santa hat and faded red apron. She said she will be posted up at Publix every weekday until Dec. 23.
One by one, as customers come, they can’t help but smile at the jovial mother of four as she shouts out, “God bless you” and “Good morning.” As the day goes on, she changes her phrases but keeps her energy at the same high level.
The Salvation Army kicked off its Red Kettle collections Nov. 17. This year, the nonprofit has set a goal to raise $160,000. Last year, the group set a goal of $150,000 and exceeded that by $50,000.
“You know, I’ve been here in Fort Walton Beach for 25 years and I never knew how generous people could be until I started ringing the bell,” Bridgewater said as she took the bell from her steady rhythm of hitting her hip to a more upbeat ring, hitting the bell on her hand.
“I’m doing my ringing and my praising the Lord at the same time,” she said. “Then I like to add a little dance. Now, this may not be the dance people are used to, but I’m dancing anyway.”
Bridgewater said she doesn’t know how much she’s collected in her two years of bell ringing, but when someone puts anything in her kettle they get a special “thank you and God bless” from her.
“It’s amazing how many people give, especially in times we’re in now,” she said, still ringing the bell and smiling at passers-by. “Hallelujah! It makes me put a little more pep in my ringing.”
Bridgewater says she makes a new friend every day, from the elderly woman who took a few extra minutes to dance with Bridgewater to the veteran who shared one of his war stories.
She said bell ringing makes people open up to her. Bell ringing, to her, is a way to bless others.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that ringing a bell is boring. It’s not,” she said. “It’s like life. It’s what you make of it.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Angel McCurdy at 850-315-4432 or amccurdy@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AngelMnwfdn.