By Patricia Adams
More than two decades after Joe Mure started the Christmas tradition of the Little North Pole at his Rockaway Beach home when the criminal defense attorney was called to court and missed his daughters first Christmas, it’s still going stronger than ever.
This week in a guest spot on the Tamron Hall show with finance Jodi Tucci on Monday morning, Mure said that was that event that made him vow there would never be another missed Christmas.
But over the years his personal endeavors have grown far outside family obligations. Mure’s decision never to miss Christmas again has turned the Christmas display, known as The Little North Pole, into an event that each year leaves thousands of revelers thrilled to stand in the bone chilling cold to marvel at what “Joe did this year.”
When Hall asked about how much planning goes into the Little North Pole, Mure was all smiles describing the work he and a devoted band of volunteers do every year. “We think about it throughout the year, ” Mure said, “and we actually place the pieces to see where they will go.”
But when the TV host pressed Mure about how much cash he “throws” at the project his answer came from the attorney in the Christmas philanthropist. “The money doesn’t really matter. What matters is the smile that you can put on the kids faces,” said Mure, who drew rousing applause from the studio audience. But Hall was not so quick to give up and asked, “But how much do you spend?”
The audience was again tickled by Mure’s comeback, delivered with the biggest of smiles, “We spend enough to put enough smiles on as many faces as we can.”
Regardless of what is spent, the event clearly serves it’s alternative purpose which is to act as one of Mure’s fundraising vehicles for the cause that remains as close to him as his own heartbeat.
Year after year Mure raises six figure sums in support of Juvenile Diabetes Research, for JDRF. Last year with the Little North Pole as well as the annual gala held in May and a cigar night organized by close friend Angelo Gurino, they raised over a quarter of a million dollars in support of the cause.
This year, the Little North Pole count is not completed, however Mure says he expects the final total to be around 30K just from that event.
Last year really brought attention to the Little North Pole after it was named the winner of the Great Christmas Light Fight, netting a $50k prize for JDRF.
“This is what Christmas is all about,” says Mure’s fiancé Jodi Tucci. “I fell in love with his heart and I am so blessed to be able to be a part of this.”
We know just how she feels. Mure’s constant dedication to his cause and the difference he has made in the advances in fighting Juvenile Diabetes clearly say Merry Christmas exactly the way it was meant to be said.
Forum Photos by Corazon Aguirre/Liquido Creativo
